Velleity is the lowest degree of volition, a slight wish or tendency.
Examples of usage
In philosophy
The 16th-century French philosopher
Montaigne, in his essay ''On the Force of Imagination'' begins with the
epigraph he cites from a schoolboy textbook, ''Fortis imaginatio generat casum'', or "A strong imagination begets the event itself."
In this essay, Montaigne describes the various ways that the will (or ''imagination'' as he calls it) causes people and other animals to do things or to have things done to them, with the barest of initiatives.
In said essay, he links (what is now called) the
placebo effect
A placebo ( ) is a substance or treatment which is designed to have no therapeutic value. Common placebos include inert tablets (like sugar pills), inert injections (like Saline (medicine), saline), sham surgery, and other procedures.
In general ...
to the power of the will.
For example, he describes how a certain Germain, was
born a female named Mary, who "that by straining himself in a leap his male organs came out" at the age of 22.
He also cites the
stigmata
Stigmata ( grc, στίγματα, plural of , 'mark, spot, brand'), in Roman Catholicism, are bodily wounds, scars and pain which appear in locations corresponding to the crucifixion wounds of Jesus Christ: the hands, wrists, and feet.
Sti ...
of
Dagobert
Dagobert or Taginbert is a Germanic male given name, possibly from Old Frankish ''Dag'' "day" and ''beraht'' "bright".
Alternatively, it has been identified as Gaulish ''dago'' "good" ''berxto'' "bright".
Animals
* Roi Dagobert (born 1964), ...
and
Saint Francis, and when the bride
Laodice worshipping
Venus
Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never f ...
cured her husband
Amasis, King of Egypt of his
impotence
Erectile dysfunction (ED), also called impotence, is the type of sexual dysfunction in which the penis fails to become or stay erect during sexual activity. It is the most common sexual problem in men.Cunningham GR, Rosen RC. Overview of mal ...
, among several other examples.
Friedrich Nietzsche
Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (; or ; 15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher, prose poet, cultural critic, philologist, and composer whose work has exerted a profound influence on contemporary philosophy. He began his ...
describes the velleity of an
artist as a "desire to ''be'' 'what he is able to represent, conceive, and express'...."
[
Aaron Ridley, in "Nietzsche, philosophy and the arts," ed. by Salim Kemal, Ivan Gaskell, Daniel W. Conway, at pp. 128-131 (Cambridge University Press, 2002) , (emphasis provided), found a]
Google Book search
Accessed April 29, 2009.
Nietzsche championed the
will to power
The will to power (german: der Wille zur Macht) is a concept in the philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche. The will to power describes what Nietzsche may have believed to be the main driving force in humans. However, the concept was never systemati ...
, which can be encapsulated as starting with velleity, in his free-will theorem.
Keith David Wyma refers frequently to the "concept of velleity", citing
Thomas Aquinas
Thomas Aquinas, OP (; it, Tommaso d'Aquino, lit=Thomas of Aquino; 1225 – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican friar and priest who was an influential philosopher, theologian and jurist in the tradition of scholasticism; he is known wit ...
as a pioneer of introducing the idea into philosophy.
[
Keith David Wyma, ''Crucible of reason'', pp. 197, 221, 223, 225, 227 (Rowman and Littlefield 2004). . Found a]
Google books
Accessed June 3, 2010.
In psychology
Psychologist Avi Sion writes, "''Many psychological concepts may only be defined and explained with reference to velleity''." (''Emphasis in original''.)
[Avi Sion, "Volition and allied causal concepts," p. 190 (2004). . Found a]
Google books
Also found a
All accessed June 3, 2010. An example he cites is that "an ordinarily desirable object can only properly be called 'interesting' or 'tempting' to that
agent
Agent may refer to:
Espionage, investigation, and law
*, spies or intelligence officers
* Law of agency, laws involving a person authorized to act on behalf of another
** Agent of record, a person with a contractual agreement with an insuranc ...
at that time, if he manifests some velleity...."
He distinguishes between the two types of velleity - "''to do'' something and one ''not to do'' something...."
Furthermore, he asserts, "The concept of velleity is also important because it enables us to understand the co-existence of conflicting values."
A person could thus have "double velleity" or "a mix of velleity for something and a volition for its opposite: the latter dominates, of course, but that does not erase the fact of velleity."
See also
*
Intention (criminal law)
In criminal law, intent is a subjective state of mind () that must accompany the acts of certain crimes to constitute a violation. A more formal, generally synonymous legal term is : intent or knowledge of wrongdoing.
Definitions
Intent is de ...
References
{{Reflist
Free will
Linguistics
Motivation