Akratic thinking

Akratic action is voluntarily acting against one’s better judgment. Akratic belief is believing against one’s better judgment. We here provide an account of a phenomenon that sits somewhere between the two: “akratic thinking.” This is where we engage in a thought process against our better judgment. While the idea of akratic thinking has been tentatively considered before, no account has yet been offered of it. This is what we’ll offer here. Our account will seek to show how akratic thinking is possible, the different forms it can take, and the kind of irrationality involved. We’ll also explore how the notion of akratic thinking can provide an alternative explanation for some ostensible cases of akratic belief, and the implications it may have for our understanding of certain mental disorders.