Ainslie in Breakdown of Will (2001) gives a more subtle explanation for this situation: “To save your
expectation of controlling yourself generally, you’ll be strongly motivated to find a line that excludes
from your larger rule the kind of choice where your will failed so that you won’t see your lapse in
this setting as a precedent for choices in all other settings as well. This means attributing the lapse
to a particular aspect of your present situation, even though it will make self-control much more
difficult when that aspect is present in the future. It may even mean that you abandon attempts to
use willpower where that aspect is present.” From this perspective, the will to self-control makes
people constantly redefine the boundaries of special situations, and this process continuously
expands the collection of special situations until self-control is abandoned.
Throughout the process, the initial will to overcome the weakness of my will becomes a constant question to be doubted and questioned, detached from my will to quit smoking itself. As a result, my vacillation of will became more and more extensive, reaching the length of seven meters in the end.
Throughout the process, the initial will to overcome the weakness of my will becomes a constant question to be doubted and questioned, detached from my will to quit smoking itself. As a result, my vacillation of will became more and more extensive, reaching the length of seven meters in the end.