What do you think?
Rate this book
Willing, Wanting, Waiting
Richard Holton provides a unified account of intention, choice, weakness of will, strength of will, temptation, addiction, and freedom of the will. Drawing on recent psychological research, he argues that, rather than being the pinnacle of rationality, the central components of the will are there to compensate for our inability to make or maintain sound judgments. Choice is understood as the capacity to form intentions even in the absence of judgments of what action is best. Weakness of will is understood as the failure to maintain an intention, or more specifically, a resolution, in the face of temptation--where temptation typically involves a shift in judgment as to what is best, or in the case of addiction, a disconnection between what is judged best and what is desired. Strength of will is the corresponding ability to maintain a resolution, an ability that requires the employment of a particular faculty or skill. Finally, the experience of freedom of the will is traced to the
experiences of forming intentions, and of maintaining resolutions, both of which require effortful activity from the agent.
experiences of forming intentions, and of maintaining resolutions, both of which require effortful activity from the agent.
- GenresPhilosophy
218 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2006
4 people are currently reading
108 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
December 26, 2014
I dug this book. It is constructed in a remarkably clear way. Most interesting were the middle chapters on Weakness of Will, Temptation, and Strength of Will. Ultimately, I appreciate Holton's project of regaining some common sense back from the reductivist accounts of action. Also, Holton draws on quite a bit of empirical research to support his claims, which is appreciated and fascinating. This is (to its credit) not overly complicated (as many accounts of action tend to be) and worth a read.
June 11, 2020
This book is an excellent examination of the human will, a capacity that we cognitively limited creatures have to act in a complex world full of uncertainty and temptation. Throughout, Holton explores and very clearly analyzes the most profound aspects of the human will (weakness of will, free will and strength of will) and the mechanisms of choices, intentions and thoroughly defended “resolutions” a robust intention that stands firm in the face of future contrary inclinations or beliefs. Along the way, he cites lots of empirical work in psychology and behavioral economics which compellingly supports some of his findings without his account just being a philosophical restatement of these important results.
Perhaps the only qualm I have with his book is that some of the studies that are used are struggling with replicability (as are whole branches of psychology). While I recognize the studies are not authoritative and he is not overreliant on them, it perhaps bears worth mentioning (though my negligence might have made me miss these mentions). Overall, I really enjoyed this work despite it being outside of my usual philosophical reading list.
Perhaps the only qualm I have with his book is that some of the studies that are used are struggling with replicability (as are whole branches of psychology). While I recognize the studies are not authoritative and he is not overreliant on them, it perhaps bears worth mentioning (though my negligence might have made me miss these mentions). Overall, I really enjoyed this work despite it being outside of my usual philosophical reading list.
April 3, 2025
“All theory is against the freedom of will; All experience is for it.” — Samuel Johnson
Although Holton has a clear voice and a really motivating message in this book, it wasn’t completely satisfying. This was descriptive of the mechanisms of free will, but stopped short of being a comprehensive defense of it (which is what I expected coming into this). Free will’s most threatening foe—determinism—is only mentioned in the last chapter.
He talks about our intentions, choices, resolutions, and how we make them and stick to them. I loved the steady references to psych research to support his philosophical claims. But again, I need more arguments against determinism. It seems like that just simply wasn’t the purpose of the book, but it was what I was hoping for.
Although Holton has a clear voice and a really motivating message in this book, it wasn’t completely satisfying. This was descriptive of the mechanisms of free will, but stopped short of being a comprehensive defense of it (which is what I expected coming into this). Free will’s most threatening foe—determinism—is only mentioned in the last chapter.
He talks about our intentions, choices, resolutions, and how we make them and stick to them. I loved the steady references to psych research to support his philosophical claims. But again, I need more arguments against determinism. It seems like that just simply wasn’t the purpose of the book, but it was what I was hoping for.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews