Higher Motivations

Why Produce Goodness?

All inquiries within THEE start from the assumption that what is most distinctive about being human is our capacity to create a reality for ourselves and others. This particular inquiry assumes that goodness is an important and distinctive part of being human.
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Evolutionary biologists and other scientific materialists view individuals as objects with properties. They wonder what human beings are «really» like and what «makes» them act. So they ask questions like: Is a person really self-interested? or really altruistic? What specific conditions can trigger altruistic behaviour? Psychosocial reality is not recognized, free will is regarded as an illusion, and so notions like commitment and existential choice are irrelevant. Goodness cannot be recognized apart from a value given to specific outcomes. THEE inquiries do not deny that there is a biological substratum and accept that much in human life is reflex, unconscious, or determined in some way—but its elements reveal that there is more than that in being a person.

The idea of creating what is good and making oneself and life in general better seems to be innate, at least for many or most, and probably potentially for all. However, no-one would doubt that it is a challenge. As with any challenge requiring a creative response, we may choose to rise to it—or not.

So the framework for creativity with its place for motivation-RG5¹ is relevant.
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The commitment to produce goodness needs perseverance-RG5, which has three components. Determination-RG5³ must be taken for granted here, and goodness is its own justification-RG5². So motivation-RG5¹ comes into focus. Motivation is experienced in various ways as shown in the Table below.

Motivation Correspondences in THEE

L	Purpose PH6	Motivation	Experience PH4
7	Ultimate Value	Inspiration	Imagination
6	Value System	Obligation	Identification
5	Social Value	Need	Intuition
4	Principal Object	Interest	Idea
3	Internal Priority	Desire	Emotion
2	Strategic Objective	Intention	Image
1	Tactical Objective	Awareness	Sensation

Motivations to be Responsible

Social existence, whatever the society, requires us to have a sense of responsibility. This responsibility relates to what others can reasonably expect of us and seems to be unique to human beings. Responsibility accompanies the holding of any purpose or value. Producing goodness is an unusual goal and the responsibility for it is also unusual in that it is not necessarily demanded in the social milieu. Responsibility for humanity can also be experienced as directed to: yourself because you are in a union with humanity, or to God or the Cosmos as an imaginative experience.

The components for producing goodness discovered in the initial 3 Groupings are all responsibilities. (You can see these set out in a table in the next Topic):

• R"G1: Applying ultimate values by using the vehicles of goodness is the basic personal responsibility through which humanity's reservoir of spiritual energy is replenished.
• R"G2: Finding strength by using the mantras of self-control is a communal responsibility, dependent on how well each person handles their intrapersonal, interpersonal and transpersonal spheres of uniqueness.
• R"G3: Overcoming pain by using techniques of healing is a humane responsibility because it is the feature of interpersonal interaction relevant to sustaining peace and harmony and avoiding violence or despair.

Motivation applies within all these Groupings, but it is primarily in the form of an impersonal obligation. R"G4: Building character using the theatres of authenticity is both the culmination of the obligation to be responsible and also the source and result of appropriate motivations.

In moving onwards and upward, obligation does not disappear, but other more egocentric motivations come to the fore. These provide an appealing human rationale for the lower components.

• R"G5: The most basic motivation for producing goodness is the attainment of equanimity. This is a personal motivation because inner peace and contentment, despite life's pressures, is naturally driven by interest, need, and desire.
• R"G6: The next driver for goodness comes from the feelings that arise from embracing vitality. We seek to feel fully alive in our interactions with others, and so this is a communal motivation. Living, as distinct from merely existing and sleepwalking through life, may be felt as a desire or as a need.
• R"G7:Entertaining great dreams that can make life good for each and all is a humane motivation that is dependent on a core of purity and reserves of goodwill. It is potentially driven by inspiration, need, interest and desire.

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• See other reflections on goodness.

Originally posted: 7-Jun-2013