Oprah Through the Years, Part 10

This definition appears on many, many web pages:

Will is that faculty of the mind which selects, at the moment of decision, the strongest desire from among the various desires present.

A lengthy online search reveals two things:

1. The only reference anyone seems willing to use as a footnote for that quotation is Wikipedia.
2. Philosophers will argue all day about the tiniest nuance of the concept, including whether there is a difference between “will” and “willpower.”

Will is often known as “free will” with good reason, as any desire, however strong, is futile unless one has the freedom to impose one’s will upon the environment (including oneself and other people) in order to fulfill that desire. Someone chained in a stone-walled pit could possess the most awesome will in the world, and still not be able to use it.

The series “Breaking Bad” and other popular entertainments in the action genre are fascinating because they illustrate prodigious feats of willpower exerted in extreme situations. Anyone who gets excited about such a TV show or movie can probably be depended on to recount at tedious length an impressive escape sequence.

One definition of will begins with, “Arguments for free will have been based on…” — and what does that even mean? The notion that free will exists at all? Or “for” in the sense of being in favor of it, as in, “Free will is a good thing”? And even those few words are misleading, because they assume that will and free will are the same thing.

The initial quotation, about selecting the strongest desire, runs into a problem, because a paralyzed person can will all day long, “I will move one finger” and no matter how strong that intention is — even if it is the strongest of many various desires — it’s not going to happen, which would imply a definite lack of power. So how could will and willpower be synonymous? It would seem that will alone is not enough, and that power is a separate and distinct factor here.

Getting a grip on will

Philosophers might explore the theoretical notion that everyone has the same amount of willpower. Could it be that (leaving aside the possibility of organic brain damage) every human is born with willpower, even an enormous reservoir of it, or at least as much as anyone else? Then why are the end results so different? Can a person grow, cultivate, or otherwise obtain more willpower? Can a person steal someone else’s? Or take a pill and get some? Can a human renounce willpower, as religious doctrines recommend? Apparently, it is quite possible for someone to put aside their own desires and live instead by the will of a deity, or karma, or fate.

Why does will so frequently go wrong? Does the problem lie in whatever particular end the person is willing or wanting? Can someone who sincerely wishes to die find a way? Should they be allowed to? When someone’s strongest desire is apparently to weigh 800 pounds, should they be allowed to? If not, who should stop them? And how? To what extent should an individual be permitted to follow the dictates of her or his own will? To what extent should a population be expected or forced to accede to the willful desires of a political leader?

Fortunately, this venue is not where such matters are decided. Here we are concerned with the individual. If a person gives the appearance and displays the behavior of someone wanting a harmful condition or outcome, what can be done? It would seem like the trick is to figure out why that person wants what they want; and then to help them internalize the concept that it would be better if they wanted something else instead; and then to somehow teach, lead, or persuade them into wanting something else instead, and then help them figure out how to attain the desired dénouement.

Rather than be sidetracked into researching Plato, Spinoza, Descartes, Schopenhauer, et al, subsequent posts look into what three contemporary authorities (Robert Pretlow, M.D., Bob Greene, and Oprah Winfrey) have said about will and willpower.

Your responses and feedback are welcome!

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Profiles: Kids Struggling with Weight

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The Book

OVERWEIGHT: What Kids Say explores the obesity problem from the often-overlooked perspective of children struggling with being overweight.

About Dr. Robert A. Pretlow

Dr. Robert A. Pretlow is a pediatrician and childhood obesity specialist. He has been researching and spreading awareness on the childhood obesity epidemic in the US for more than a decade.
You can contact Dr. Pretlow at:

Presentations

Dr. Pretlow’s invited presentation at the American Society of Animal Science 2020 Conference
What’s Causing Obesity in Companion Animals and What Can We Do About It

Dr. Pretlow’s invited presentation at the World Obesity Federation 2019 Conference:
Food/Eating Addiction and the Displacement Mechanism

Dr. Pretlow’s Multi-Center Clinical Trial Kick-off Speech 2018:
Obesity: Tackling the Root Cause

Dr. Pretlow’s 2017 Workshop on
Treatment of Obesity Using the Addiction Model

Dr. Pretlow’s invited presentation for
TEC and UNC 2016

Dr. Pretlow’s invited presentation at the 2015 Obesity Summit in London, UK.

Dr. Pretlow’s invited keynote at the 2014 European Childhood Obesity Group Congress in Salzburg, Austria.

Dr. Pretlow’s presentation at the 2013 European Congress on Obesity in Liverpool, UK.

Dr. Pretlow’s presentation at the 2011 International Conference on Childhood Obesity in Lisbon, Portugal.

Dr. Pretlow’s presentation at the 2010 Uniting Against Childhood Obesity Conference in Houston, TX.

Food & Health Resources