Why Enkrateia may be so important
What is Enkrateia and its suggested central role in Ethics, Well-being and Altruism.
Enkrateia (ἐγκράτεια) comes from Greek and means “in power (of yourself)” as opposed to akrasia which means “lack of power (over yourself)”, “lack of self-control”, “to act in discordance with the best known option”. Subjectively, it can be said that Enkrateia is the feeling of enduring for something bigger, instead of akrasia, that is to follow the immediate pulsions.
So, why acting in accordance with the best known option is not straightforward and may be central in Ethics, Well-being and Altruism?
Animals, like all living organisms, need the common exterior that surrounds them and are the only ones to search to satisfy the needs autonomously and not automatically: they are intrinsically free to manage their bodies for the purpose of being gratified and not punished by their internal system of gratification-and-punishment. Their needs are, approximately, of: 1. materials and energy, 2. elimination 3. rest and 4. obtainment through: 4a learning, 4b execution, 4c symbiosis (autonomous exterior) and 4d sense.
However, logical as it seems, the system of gratification-and-punishment does not gratify that which does not contemplate or punishes that which contemplates negatively, even if that is needed for satisfaction. Therefore, it is necessary Enkrateia to overcome the immediate lack of gratification or punishment from the established system to search and fully satisfy the needs, in order to generate the most gratifying possible outcome for each animal by yourself connected.
In this sense, one would propose the central and determinant role of Enkrateia in overcoming the immediate obtaining Ethics, Well-being and Altruism.
