Akrasia

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mnichols0
Junior Lexiterian
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Joined: Sat Jul 16, 2022 2:51 am

Akrasia

Postby mnichols0 » Fri Jan 06, 2023 1:57 am

Akrasia is the state of mind in which someone acts against their better judgment through weakness of will. It is mostly found in philosophical works, and particularly in reference to Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics.

Paul, in a fit of akrasia, bought a pack of cigarettes despite having quit the year before.

The word was coined in the early 19th century from Greek a- 'without' and kratos 'power or strength.'

David Myer
Grand Panjandrum
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Location: Melbourne

Re: Akrasia

Postby David Myer » Fri Jan 06, 2023 5:53 am

From which 'crazy' perhaps?

mnichols0
Junior Lexiterian
Posts: 28
Joined: Sat Jul 16, 2022 2:51 am

Re: Akrasia

Postby mnichols0 » Mon Jan 09, 2023 9:00 pm

Apparently, the word history of crazy goes back to the late 16th century in the sense of "full of cracks," from craze + y. Craze was a late Middle English word meaning "to break or produce cracks." It was borrowed from the Scandinavian languages and is related to Swedish krasa, "crunch."

David Myer
Grand Panjandrum
Posts: 1134
Joined: Wed Nov 11, 2009 3:21 am
Location: Melbourne

Re: Akrasia

Postby David Myer » Wed Jan 11, 2023 7:54 am

Wow! Thanks, mnichols0. Interesting.


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