ABSTRACT
Most discussions of paternalism focus on cases in which an agent is treated paternalistically by another agent or entity (such as a political or social institution). And, indeed, the idea of self-paternalism might seem cryptic. Can there, for example, really be cases in which I know better than myself or am more rational than myself, and so I have to get in my way for my own good? The aim of this chapter is to discuss the nature and possibility of self-paternalism by reviewing several types of cases involving temptation (including cases of akrasia, certain cases of distortion, and cases of procrastination) in which an agent has reason to take measures that will constrain or put pressure on him to follow a certain course of action because he has reason not to trust himself to make good choices.
