Complexity on the Fringes of rationality: Proposal for a Definition of the Basic Structure Underlying the Complexity of the Action-Attitude Coupling through a Critique of the Excluded Middle Principle
This article aims to define a basic structure of the complexity in the relationship between cognitive attitude and action by questioning the principle of the excluded middle. Taking as a starting point the human will, we show that, given its weaknesses (Aristotelian akrasia and objectives referred to as essentially secondary effects by Jon Elster), the person implements self-restraint strategies (such as commitment), which are irrational but effective. Their effectiveness arises from the human capacity to self-deceive. The structure of this «mauvaise foi», as Jean-Paul Sartre conceptualized it, is based on the result of the contradictory co-presence of incompatible beliefs and, even more, their mutual strengthening, in spite of the fact that forcing oneself to believe is an example of an essentially secondary effect. We describe the mechanism of this contradiction, thus questioning the law of the excluded middle. The result can be thought of as the «elementary brick» of human complexity.