Oxford University Press, 2010 (co-edited with Chrisoula Andreou)
DESCRIPTION
When we fail to achieve our goals, procrastination is often the culprit. But how exactly is procrastination to be understood? It has been described as imprudent, irrational, inconsistent, and even immoral, but there has been no sustained philosophical debate concerning the topic.
This edited volume starts in on the task of integrating the problem of procrastination into philosophical inquiry. The focus is on exploring procrastination in relation to agency, rationality, and ethics-topics that philosophy is well-suited to address. Theoretically and empirically informed analyses are developed and applied with the aim of shedding light on a vexing practical problem that generates a great deal of frustration, regret, and harm. Some of the key questions that are addressed include the following: How can we analyze procrastination in a way that does justice to both its voluntary and its self-defeating dimensions? What kind of practical failing is procrastination? Is it a form of weakness of will? Is it the product of fragmented agency? Is it a vice? Given the nature of procrastination, what are the most promising coping strategies?
REVIEWS, INTERVIEWS, AND OTHER MEDIA
Print/online:
- “Later: What does procrastination tell us about ourselves?“, feature by James Surowiecki, The New Yorker, October 11, 2010
- “Ask an Academic: Procrastination,” Q&A with Andreou and White at The Book Bench blog (at The New Yorker), October 5, 2010
- “Procrastinators: You’ll read this later,” feature by John Allemang in The Globe and Mail, December 24, 2010
- Review in The Philosopher’s Magazine (issue 52) by Damon Young, September 17, 2010
- Review at bookforum.com by Brendan Boyle, May 13, 2010
- Review in Times Higher Education by Les Gofton, July 29, 2010
- Review in Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews by Nomy Arpaly, July 7, 2011
- Review in Eastern Economic Journal by Jonathan B. Wight, Spring 2013
Radio/podcasts:
- Interview on The Takeaway (NPR), featuring Andreou and White, October 20, 2010
- Interview on The Current (CBC), featuring White and Dr. Piers Steel, December 28, 2010
- Interview on To the Best of Our Knowledge (Wisconsin Public Radio), featuring Andreou and Baker, January 23, 2011
- “Leveraging Self-Control: An interesting strategy for coping with procrastination,” iProcrastinate Podcast with Timothy Pychyl, featuring Andreou, June 30, 2010
- “Try harder! Procrastination, agency, and willpower,” iProcrastinate Podcast with Timothy Pychyl, featuring White, July 23, 2010
- “Is Procrastination Weakness of Will?“, iProcrastinate Podcast with Timothy Pychyl, featuring Stroud, December 14, 2010
- “Self-control strategies: Triggers, chutes, ladders and other ways to scaffold our success,” iProcrastinate Podcast with Timothy Pychyl, featuring Anderson, January 22, 2011
Blog posts:
- “What makes an excuse credible? Does it matter?” by Timothy Pychyl, at Psychology Today, January 19, 2010
- “Overcoming procrastination: Four potential problems during goal pursuit,” by Timothy Pychyl, at Psychology Today, January 20, 2010
- “Is Procrastination Immoral?” by Mark D. White, at Psychology Today, March 20, 2010
- “What Is Procrastination: 5 Perspectives,” by Maria Popova at Brain Pickings, October 2010
- “Leveraging as a strategy to defeat needless delay,” by Timothy Pychyl, at Psychology Today, December 10, 2010
- “Get out of the procrastination trap: The role of will, choice and virtue,” by Timothy Pychyl, at Psychology Today, December 12, 2010
- “Procrastination: Is your future self getting a bad deal?” by Timothy Pychyl, at Psychology Today, December 13, 2010
- “Procrastination and Morality,” by Jennifer A. Baker, at Psychology Today, January 12, 2011
- “External Supports for Your Willpower,” by Timothy Pychyl, at Psychology Today, January 29, 2011
- “Can ‘Seeing’ Your Future Self Help You Save More–or Procrastinate Less?” by Mark D. White, at Psychology Today, March 28, 2011
- “7 Must-Read Books on Time,” by Maria Popova at Brain Pickings, October 2011
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Part I
1. Procrastination: The Basic Impulse, George Ainslie (Veterans Affairs Medical Center)
2. Economic Models of Procrastination, Don Ross (University of Cape Town and University of Alabama at Birmingham)
3. Is Procrastination Weakness of Will? Sarah Stroud (McGill University)
4. Intransitive Preferences, Vagueness, and the Structure of Procrastination, Duncan MacIntosh (Dalhousie University)
5. Bad Timing, Jon Elster (Columbia University)
Part II
6. Prudence, Procrastination, and Rationality, Olav Gjelsvik (University of Oslo)
7. Procrastination and Personal Identity, Christine Tappolet (Universite de Montreal)
8. Procrastination, Vagueness and the Policy as Action Model, Sergio Tenenbaum (University of Toronto)
9. Virtue for Procrastinators, Elijah Millgram (University of Utah)
10. Procrastination as Vice, Jennifer A. Baker (College of Charleston)
Part III
11. Overcoming Procrastination through Planning, Frank Wieber (University of Konstanz, Germany) and Peter M. Gollwitzer (New York University)
12. Coping with Procrastination, Chrisoula Andreou (University of Utah)
13. Resisting Procrastination: Kantian Autonomy and the Role of the Will, Mark D. White (College of Staten Island, CUNY)
14. Procrastination and the Extended Will, Joseph Heath (University of Toronto) and Joel Anderson (Utrecht University, Netherlands)
15. Procrastination and the Law, Manuel A. Utset (Florida State University College of Law)
Mark D. White 