Akrasia
The philosophical problem of knowing what is right but doing wrong anyway — weakness of will in the face of temptation.
The Meaning of Akrasia
Akrasia — literally lacking command over oneself — was one of the most debated problems in Greek philosophy. How can a person know what is right and still choose what is wrong? Socrates denied it was possible: if you truly know the good, you will do it. Apparent akrasia is just ignorance in disguise. Aristotle disagreed, arguing in the Nicomachean Ethics that passion can overwhelm knowledge temporarily — a person in the grip of desire retains their knowledge only in the way a sleeping person or a drunk retains it, unable to deploy it effectively. This debate has run for 2,400 years without resolution. In mythology, akrasia appears constantly: Odysseus's crew opening the bag of winds despite knowing the stakes, Phaethon insisting on driving the sun chariot despite his father's warnings, Pandora opening the jar despite being told not to. The Greeks understood that knowing better and doing better are tragically different capacities.
Fun Fact
Socrates thought weakness of will was impossible — if you truly know what is good, you will always do it.
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth. See our full guide to English words from Greek mythology.
Explore Further
Akrasia
💭 conceptEthics and Will
The Greek concept of acting against one's better judgment, the philosophical problem of weakness of will.
Aporia
💭 conceptThe productive state of philosophical puzzlement
The state of intellectual impasse that Socrates deliberately induced — the recognition that you do not know what you thought you knew.
Phronesis
💭 conceptwisdom, practical judgment
Practical wisdom — the ability to discern the right course of action in particular circumstances.
Episteme
💭 conceptknowledge, science
True knowledge based on demonstration and understanding of causes — as opposed to mere opinion.
Hamartia
💭 conceptTragic flaw or error
Hamartia was the tragic hero's fatal flaw or error of judgement — the concept Aristotle identified as the hinge on which tragedy turns.
Plato
💭 conceptPhilosophy, myth, forms
Athenian philosopher who both critiqued traditional myths and created powerful new ones in his dialogues
Philosophy
💭 conceptLanguage and thought
An English word for the study of fundamental questions about existence, knowledge, and ethics, derived from the Greek philosophia meaning love of wisdom
Aletheia
💭 conceptTruth as unconcealment
The Greek concept of truth, meaning literally unconcealment — truth is what is revealed when hiding and forgetting are stripped away.
Fate vs Free Will
💭 conceptPhilosophy
The enduring tension in Greek thought between predetermined destiny and human choice
Enantiodromia
💭 conceptphilosophy
The tendency of extremes to reverse into their opposites — the principle that things carried to their limit swing back toward what they denied.
Apatheia
💭 conceptStoic Philosophy
The Stoic ideal of freedom from destructive passions, achieved through rational discipline.
Anamnesis
💭 conceptPlato's theory that learning is remembering
Plato's doctrine that the soul possesses innate knowledge from before birth, and that learning is really recollection.