Free Will, Addiction, and the Feeling of Self-Control

Addictions are strong appetites. A compulsion is an overwhelming and intense desire leading to immediate action that seems to crowd out other impulses and mental states since one’s attention is so focused on, say, acquiring and taking a drug. Compulsion in drug addiction is often viewed as resulting from impaired “self-control.” In this chapter, I explore the relationship between the interrelated topics of free will-determinism, addiction, compulsion, and self-control. Having a feeling of compulsion to use drugs is, by itself, irrelevant to whether the related actions are free according to both determinists and compatibilists. Compatibilists, such as Frankfurt, argue that the issue turns more on the presence or absence of certain second-order desires. I raise some questions about this so-called “deep self” compatibilist view, such as whether we should always treat the second-order desires as reflecting one’s true self. It is actually through introspection that we sometimes consciously experience having some kind of “self-control.” There may even be the beginnings of a brain-based account of self-control which can explain how our becoming consciously aware of our compulsions and using executive functions can sometimes lead to controlling addictive cravings.