Maybe Weeks is referring to “not wanting” in terms of not finally deciding to do something he felt was wrong, rather than not being tempted?
Not so. Back when I was religious, there were times when I waned to do things that went against my religious teachings, but I refrained from them out of the belief that they would somehow be harmful to me in some undefined-but-compelling way, not because they seemed wrong to me.
I’ve certainly felt tempted about many things, but the restraining factor is possible negative consequences, not ethical or moral feelings.
I don’t recall ever wanting to do something I felt was wrong, or feeling wrong about something I wanted to do. At most I’ve felt confused or uncertain about whether the benefits would be greater than the possible harm.
The feeling of “wrong” to me is “bad, damaging, negative consequences, harmful to myself or those I care about”. The idea of wanting to do something with those qualities seems contradictory, but it’s well established by evidence that many people do feel like that about things they want to do. That part wasn’t surprising to me.
Not so. Back when I was religious, there were times when I waned to do things that went against my religious teachings, but I refrained from them out of the belief that they would somehow be harmful to me in some undefined-but-compelling way, not because they seemed wrong to me.
I’ve certainly felt tempted about many things, but the restraining factor is possible negative consequences, not ethical or moral feelings.
I don’t recall ever wanting to do something I felt was wrong, or feeling wrong about something I wanted to do. At most I’ve felt confused or uncertain about whether the benefits would be greater than the possible harm.
The feeling of “wrong” to me is “bad, damaging, negative consequences, harmful to myself or those I care about”. The idea of wanting to do something with those qualities seems contradictory, but it’s well established by evidence that many people do feel like that about things they want to do. That part wasn’t surprising to me.