Irrationality In Philosophy and Psychology: The Moral Implications of Self-Defeating Behavior.

Abstract

The philosophical study of irrationality can yield interesting insights into the human mind. One provocative issue is self-defeating behaviors, i.e. behaviors that result in failure to achieve one's apparent goals and ambitions. In this paper I consider a self-defeating behavior called choking under pressure, explain why it should be considered irrational, and how it is best understood with reference to skills. Then I describe how choking can be explained without appeal to a purely Freudian subconscious or "sub-agents" view of mind. Finally, I will recommend an alternative way to understand self-defeating behavior which comes from a synthesis of Peter Strawson's explanation of "self-reactive attitudes", Mark Johnston's notion of "mental tropisms", and revised Freudian descriptions of the causes of self-defeating behavior.