This book proposes a new science of self-control based on the
principles of behavioral psychology and economics. Claiming that
insight and self-knowledge are insufficient for controlling one's
behavior, Howard Rachlin argues that the only way to achieve such
control--and ultimately happiness--is through the development of
harmonious patterns of behavior.
Most personal problems with self-control arise because people
have difficulty delaying immediate gratification for a better
future reward. The alcoholic prefers to drink now. If she is
feeling good, a drink will make her feel better. If she is feeling
bad, a drink will make her feel better. The problem is that
drinking will eventually make her feel worse. This sequence--the
consistent choice of a highly valued particular act (such as having
a drink or a smoke) that leads to a low-valued pattern of acts--is
called "the primrose path."
To avoid it, the author presents a strategy of "soft
commitment," consisting of the development of valuable patterns of
behavior that bridge over individual temptations. He also proposes,
from economics, the concept of the substitutability of "positive
addictions," such as social activity or exercise, for "negative
addictions," such as drug abuse or overeating.
Self-control may be seen as the interaction with one's own
future self. Howard Rachlin shows that indeed the value of the
whole--of one's whole life--is far greater than the sum of the
values of its individual parts.
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