3 ms·

"Man can do what he wills but he cannot will what he wills." One of the oldest questions in philosophy to which I don't think there has every really been a goo

• programmarchy 12y ago
  Great quote by Schopenhauer. An analogy of the will that I like is that the will is like an animal in that the drive to live and reproduce is primal. But this animal -- let's call it a donkey -- can be tamed and then ridden upon, and with proper discipline, be made to go where the rider -- or intellect --wants it to go.
• cottonseed 12y ago
  I use what I like to call "environmental discipline". (I think there is a technical term for this in psychology, but I can't find it off hand. Any psychologists know?) Suppose I need to study, but I don't really feel like it. I can will myself to go to a library or coffee shop with just the books I need to study and no distractions. Once I'm there, there is little choice but to work. However, had I stayed home, where there are myriad distractions, I might have gotten little or nothing done. Packing up and walking to another location is easy compared to sitting down tody study, but once I'm at the new location, sitting down and studying is now surprisingly easy.
• CMCDragonkai 12y ago
  But you can change what you will. Are you saying you never change your opinion? Or you never change your wants or dreams?