One could also imagine an individual who aspires, through sheer dint of willpower, to become homo economicus. Whenever he senses the beginnings of a bout of empathy, guilt, shame, or love, he exercises top-down cognitive control to extinguish his emotional reactions and stay on course to maximizing his utility. It won’t be long before his social life becomes impoverished. Akrasia in his case would be quite adaptive.
It won’t be long before his social life becomes impoverished. Akrasia in his case would be quite adaptive.
Ah, but you forgot that this particular homo economicus has a utility function valuing only reproductive fitness. By suppressing emotions like empathy, guilt, shame, love, and ordinary creature comforts, he is able to make a fortune and pay/bribe sperm banks in countless countries to use exclusively his own sperm; by the time he dies heavily in debt (a poor decision by his creditors), his sperm has been used in tens of thousands of inseminations, almost all of which come to fruition, and he is officially the Most Reproductively Fit Man in the World. Akrasia in his case would be quite maladaptive.
The force of love, guilt, shame, etc. are much stronger and more common than akrasia. It is rare for humans to want and to be able to disregard these feelings completely in the long run. I don’t think akrasia functions as a social adaptation—these feelings are themselves the adaptation.
Not to mention the fact that by far most cases of akrasia hurt your social lfe: akrasia can prevent you from making new friends or meeting existing ones or indeed from doing anything at all, in the worst cases.
One could also imagine an individual who aspires, through sheer dint of willpower, to become homo economicus. Whenever he senses the beginnings of a bout of empathy, guilt, shame, or love, he exercises top-down cognitive control to extinguish his emotional reactions and stay on course to maximizing his utility. It won’t be long before his social life becomes impoverished. Akrasia in his case would be quite adaptive.
Ah, but you forgot that this particular homo economicus has a utility function valuing only reproductive fitness. By suppressing emotions like empathy, guilt, shame, love, and ordinary creature comforts, he is able to make a fortune and pay/bribe sperm banks in countless countries to use exclusively his own sperm; by the time he dies heavily in debt (a poor decision by his creditors), his sperm has been used in tens of thousands of inseminations, almost all of which come to fruition, and he is officially the Most Reproductively Fit Man in the World. Akrasia in his case would be quite maladaptive.
The force of love, guilt, shame, etc. are much stronger and more common than akrasia. It is rare for humans to want and to be able to disregard these feelings completely in the long run. I don’t think akrasia functions as a social adaptation—these feelings are themselves the adaptation.
Not to mention the fact that by far most cases of akrasia hurt your social lfe: akrasia can prevent you from making new friends or meeting existing ones or indeed from doing anything at all, in the worst cases.