The Problem of Artificial Willpower

July 7, 2015

(Scientific American) – But Kjaersgaard is focused on another matter: What do we risk by using substances that enhance our enjoyment and interest in certain pursuits – say, a university major or career – which we would otherwise find meaningless and alienating? Might we end up leading deeply inauthentic lives, using pharmaceutically-induced willpower to waft through a life that otherwise means nothing to us? In other words, Kjaersgaard is concerned about the impact of these drugs on our moods and motivations, not cognition. In fact, he’s not convinced these drugs are cognitive enhancers at all.