Paper short abstract:

At the point where habit becomes a force of its own, it introduces unfamiliarity within oneself, for in view of this power of my habits, how can I be in self-control? The paper suggests a reading of self-control that isn’t compromised by the power of habit.

Paper long abstract:

Bodily habits are acquired by repetition and serve as one among many enabling conditions to cultural learning. They build the way to skilled practice where we need not be conscious of every performed detail while practicing. However, some habits take control of us. Driving in my too Scandinavian fashion in Marseille is dangerous; I am unable to refrain from biting my nails; and the order in which I put on my cloths in the morning has a certain spell to it that is not so easily broken. At the point where habit becomes a force of its own, it introduces unfamiliarity within oneself, for in view of this power of my habits, how can I be in self-control?

My body is something I control, yet at the same time it is in control of me. Despite all familiarity, the body shapes our lives in ways beyond our complete grasp. In phenomenology, it is so often stated that the body opens up the world to me while being the starting point for all my experiential orientation; the body is experienced with a mine-ness that indicates ownership and control. However, there is a double sidedness to bodily habits that introduce a basic bodily dissonance which also shapes the way we are bodily in the world.

In the light of the unfamiliarity we embody, so this paper argues, we are forced to change our ordinary notions of freedom and self-control.