Akrasia and Ordinary Weakness of Will

This article offers an account of akrasia as a primary

failure of intentional agency in contrast to a recent account

of weakness of will, developed by Richard Holton,

that also points to a kind of failure of intentional agency

but presents this as both separate from akrasia and more

fundamental than it. Drawing on Aristotle’s work, it is

argued that the failure of intentional agency articulated

by the concept of akrasia is the central case, whereas the

phenomenon Holton’s account is after, referred to as ‘ordinary

weakness of will’, is best understood as an unsuccessful

a?empt to tackle akrasia and, more specifically, a

secondary failure of intentional agency.