TITLE:
Second-Order Volition and Conflict between Desires
AUTHORS:
Hengxi Li, Hengwei Li
KEYWORDS:
Second-Order Volition; Conflict between Desires; First-Order Desire; Unwilling Addict; Wanton
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Philosophy,
Vol.2 No.1,
February
24,
2012
ABSTRACT: In Freedom of the Will and the Concept of a Person, Harry Frankfurt put forward a theory that what is essential to be a person is second-order volition. The notion of second-order volition can be used as a key conceptual tool in understanding the conflict between desires. By means of the notion, this paper argues that the conflict between desires in our minds lies in the conflict between second-order volitions, other than the conflict between first-order desires. Based on this claim, this paper suggests that, due to the misunderstanding of the nature of the conflict between desires, the analysis of unwilling addict and wanton addict given by Frankfurt is thus wrong, and in his follow-up articles he made wrong description of the phenomenon concerning the conflict between desires.