Temperance, Continence, Weakness, Indulgence, Compulsion

Paul Bloomfield (University of Connecticut)
 
Temperance is understood as the character trait by which non-cognitive conations — urges, appetites, desires, emotions, passions, etc. — are managed virtuously or excellently: temperate conations are justified by their fittingness to their circumstances. Instead of being self-indulgent or wanton slaves of passion, temperate people master their conations, virtuously curating and integrating them into their well-lived lives. Continence, understood using Sripada's (2021) model of self-control, is a developmental step toward temperance. Therefore, theories of incontinence or weakness of will like Davidson’s, which understand it as a form of practical irrationality, are rejected. Instead, incontinence is modeled on phenomena such as the Stroop effect (1935) which is neither rational nor irrational. Finally, the distinction between incontinence and compulsion allows us to see the development of temperance, through self-reflection and practice, as central to human agency.