Akrasia and addiction

 While it may seem easy to decide which decision to take based on the facts, it's actually not. A large reason as to why people do the wrong things even after knowing what the right thing to do is addiction. A very popular addiction today is smoking which is addictive because of its nicotine. When people have an addiction to an activity, they will always have a constant urge to do it even if they decide not to do it. And usually these addictions are formed because when people do a task that they like, the body releases dopamine, which makes people satisfied and happy. Akrasia happens because deep down you want to involve yourself in an activity (like smoking) but the negative repercussions are making you doubt whether you should do it or not. The most likely reason for this is that you value the happiness you gain from it which overrules the option of not doing it altogether. The addiction or the need to get something done is where the lack of self control comes from. It's difficult if you don't know the negatives of smoking but if you know the negative health problems and still decide to smoke, you can't control yourself even after fighting and rambling about what to do in your head. For example, cancer is an outcome of smoking but people do it because cigarettes relieves stress and that can't be achieved if they quit. People know what's right and wrong but they don't always make the right decision due to their emotions taking over and not making decisions based on thinking.