Activity 6.3

The will represents the voluntary, conscious acts that individuals perform, as opposed to the habitual, or ideo-motor, actions that are ingrained within them. Acts of will are initiated when several ideas present themselves at the same time and a choice has to be made as to which idea will be acted upon. James noted that there are two types of will where either impulsion or inhibition will take precedence, and “man’s conduct appears as the mere resultant of all his various impulsions and inhibitions” (p. 86). Thus when conflicting ideas emerge and after deliberation takes place, one idea will be put into action and the other idea(s), being checked by the predominate one, will be inhibited.

James speaks of the “balky will,” where “certain children, if they do not succeed in doing a thing immediately, remain completely inhibited in regard to it” (p. 88). This brings to mind how rejections and failures can hinder individuals from moving forward. For instance, when I was in the 8^th grade, I had gone to a new school for the very first time in my life. I was persuaded to try out for the cheerleading team, something that I always wanted to do, but I did not make the team. From that very moment, this fear of failure developed inside of me, and my desire to avoid it made me become completely inhibited to situations that would produce the same type of results. James emphasized that “so long as the inhibitive sense of impossibility remains in the child’s mind, he will continue unable to get beyond the obstacle” (p. 89). I have found so much truth behind this statement and it has made me more aware as to why the fear of failing is one obstacle I have yet to overcome. In the chapter, James speaks of the teacher’s duty to make sure that “no habitual hesitancy or paralysis of the will ensues,” but I am curious to know whether individuals can overcome this hesitancy or paralysis independent of other people’s help.

The question “will you or won’t you have it so?” is relative to the topic of the will because to answer this question individuals are required to make a conscious decision about which action they will go along with. For example, as mentioned in the video, the decision to accept or not to accept reality, “even an ugly and unwanted reality.” It is as if acts of the will take precedence of habitual acts when it comes to deciding whether to “have it so.”  Furthermore, I concluded that exercising one will (impulsion) over the other (inhibition) is the same as performing an action that will result in some idea or goal being achieved and the other being avoided.