Self-Defeating Goals

The typical function of goals is to regulate action in a way that furthers goal achievement. Goals are typically set on the assumption that they will help bring the agent(s) closer to the desired state of affairs. However, sometimes endorsement of a goal, or the processes by which the goal is set, can obstruct its achievement. When this happens, the goal is self-defeating. Self-defeating goals are common in both private and social decision-making but have not received much attention by decision theorists. In this paper, we investigate different variants of three major types of self-defeating mechanisms: (1) The goal can be an obstacle to its own fulfilment (self-defeating goal endorsement), (2) goal-setting activities can impede goal achievement (self-defeating goal-setting), and (3) disclosure of the goal can interfere with its attainment (self-defeating goal disclosure). Different strategies against self-defeasance are tentatively explored, and their efficiency against different types of self-defeasance is investigated.