I think that there is also an interesting connection between the common concept of willpower and "free will" itself. When discussing "free will" it often comes

I think that there is also an interesting connection between the common concept of willpower and "free will" itself. When discussing "free will" it often comes down to the "free" part of the brain that exercises willpower against the "unfree" part of underlying emotions/feelings etc. Obviously that is quite an oversimplification and the brain just works a lot more complicated that. But - as the article points out - it is a concept that influences our notion of other humans a lot. We say that those who have a fundamental problem with the "unfree" part of their brain are ill and we try to help them medically. Those who do things with the "free" part of the brain but fail to properly control the "unfree" part (overweight/drinking problem) are treated very differently. Which might evolutionally speaking be a very reasonable differentiation for humans to pursue. But we don't want our society shaped by what is right evolutionally. Therefore we probably need some new research into that direction to make correct decisions on who is free and who isn't - which fundamentally shapes certain aspects of our society (criminal law/health law etc.)