Alan Brody
explains in Addicts, Mythmakers, and Philosophers that we, as humans, yield to
temptation in believing that participating in the moment of what’s
wrong as the best action—creating the essence of the willingness model of
behavior. Consider Homer’s Odyssey, for example (Graff 136).
Odysseus commands his shipmen to restrain him to the mast of his ship while
they sail past the sirens singing their deadly song. Prior to Odysseus’
temptation, he believes that he can repress the temptation of guiding the ship
into imminent doom. Brody further analyzes that “in the Socratic/Platonic
analysis of what we think of as ‘yielding to temptation’, temptation plays the
same role as enchantment in the story, in the sense that temptation has a power
to deceive someone into willingly choosing it as best thing to do.” (Brody) Of course, many will disagree on the
grounds that an addiction is purely subjunctive. (Graff 82) No one forces
someone to submit to temptation, though, said person may be pressured to do so.
It is only a weak will for an addict to not be able to resist compulsiveness
and come clean from his or her addiction. This
is not to say that temptation can assertively control the actions of a being,
but rather delude one into believing that falling into temptation is the best
idea at this time. (Graff 135) In that moment, an addict believes that
satisfying their addiction is far superior than the consequences that will succeed.
Ultimately, what is at stake here is that
the addict, ostracized from the face of temptation, has a robust resolve, but
the opposite proves true when tempted. (Graff 99) Brody further juxtaposes the
addict’s moral deficits reside in their motivations, as illustrated in the
accusation: “’If you cared more about peoples’ safety than drinking, you
wouldn’t drink and drive.’ Here, the individual is judged to be morally
deficient for not prioritizing peoples’ safety over their own desire to drink.”
(Brody) Addicts will often limit themselves when placed in a situation where
they would be judged for their addiction. For example, it is not unusual for
women to stop smoking while pregnant in order to protect the fetus, but to
resume smoking afterwards. Also, addicts will often limit when they engage in
their addiction, for instance, not at work, or not around certain people.
(Brody) In short, the willingness model
of behavior does prove to explain that humans give in to temptation when in the
face of adversity. (Graff 137)
Graff, Gerald, Cathy Birkenstein, and Russel Durst. They Say
/ I Say. 3rd ed. New York:
W.W. Norton, 2015. Print. 16 Oct. 2015.
Brody, Alan. "Addicts, Mythmakers and
Philosophers." Philosophy Now.
Philosophy Now, 2012. Web. 16 Oct. 2015.
<https://philosophynow.org/issues/90/Addicts_Mythmakers_and_Philosophers>.
I like the point you made of how temptation has the power to deceive someone into thinking that it is the best option at that time. I think its important to stress the phrase"at that time" because it is what makes society give into temptation as it makes it seem as if the momentary satisfaction will be greater than the consequences that follow.
ReplyDeleteThe whole time I was reading this I mused about the story of Adam and Eve. I do not profess to be a religious man, but I think the principles of temptation you discussed are the themes of the story. I do believe that inherently as humans, we are enthralled by temptation and tantalized by possible realities that lead us astray from the rational action. This is the problem with people and addicts: they live for the moment and instant gratification, instead of long-term gratification (which as an absolute-valued quantity, is greater than the quantity of instant gratification). I think this is what you touched upon rather well in your post/analysis of Dr. Brody's article. I like how you then close your post saying your viewpoint which establishes the fact you think that when tempted, humans will succumb to the irrational action.
ReplyDelete