Review of Motivation by Ideal By J. David Velleman
J. David’s essay Motivation by Ideal seeks to present an account of how ideals motivate people into action. In addition, he discusses how emulating rational ideals can lead us to conflicts and irrational action.
In the opening paragraph, Vellerman expounds on the traditional conception of moral motives stemming from a collective unified stream. Philosophers argue that to act contrary to this unified morality would lead to insane manifestations. He argues the need to explain the impulse of moral motive in the face of our obvious inclinations towards immorality.
Velleman’s main argument is that moral motivation can be isolated from other human motives because it is reinforced by the strength of an ideal, which people pretend to identify with to give them strength. Maintaining multiple ideals gives rise to irrational behavior due to divisions in motivation derived from the degree in which one identifies with an ideal.
The base of this argument is derived from Freud’s notion of the libido, or drive. It is this inner drive, when leaning on some specific motive, which motivates a person to achieve an ideal. The ideal itself is simply chosen by a person as a desired state of being. Behind this drive resides make beliefs, or fictional narratives, that serve to rationalize an action or circumstances as they relate to achieving this ideal. Velleman posits that behavior is make-believe and that we choose make-believe stories, or fictitious narratives and imaginings, in order to intelligibly justify an action towards an outcome.
Make-believe stories fueled by a drive and an imagining. These beliefs function as instrumental motives for directing actions that lead us to a desired state. Persons act and interpret actions within the context of these make beliefs, thereby living into the idea. As acts and circumstances are interpreted through make-belief, they serve to reinforce the reality of this belief. Eventually, the idea or desired state becomes reality as they continually emulate the ideal and therefore, ultimately embody that ideal so that it is no longer ‘mock-belief’. Essentially, imaginings allow us to intelligibly and reasonably justify our actions toward desires. We create and live into them through the force of our libido.
A person may defend their actions by emulating ideals that motivate and explain their actions. The justification: I am doing ‘this action’ because I am ‘this action’ relies on the Freudian drive theory to explain the ‘real’ reason for one’s energy and ability to perform an action. Velleman insists that actions do not lead us to end-outcomes, rather, they lead us to what we want.
The idea of creating fictitious beliefs to facilitate desires can also be generated by idealizing other people. This allows one to model behavior as a way to gradually adopt an accurate understanding story of an ideal.
However, he proposes that while it is rational to emulate and mirror ideals, it can lead us astray by leaving us susceptible to do irrational things. Conflict occurs when competing desires and interests lead to the production of two stories, causing irrational action to occur.
Velleman posits that multiple personalities may be a result of the lines of distinction between ‘make-believe’ stories fading and the self conceptions operate without constraint as full blown delusions. ‘Getting carried away’ refers to the committal to a single story, temporarily forgetting the other story by devoting the mind to that particular fiction. However, the notion of fully ‘buying into’ the imaginative narrative is the key to actualizing yourself because the fictitious story always leads to a natural conclusion.
Velleman’s account of ideals as motivation is provoking. At the heart of his thesis is an important idea that each person manifests according to one an adopted psychology. While this seems intuitive, there is incredible power behind this. Narratives are packaged experiences that provide content with specific context. With words they form a plot that shapes and hews a perspective. The words in every narrative are unique to that specific context. Each word is distinct in place and time and kind. By changing ones narrative, one changes his psychology and effectively changes himself.
The worldview we maintain as we approach reality is simply a tapestry of interwoven narratives gathered from our personal experiences, as well as those we’ve adopted in order to supplement our existing worldview. I agree with Velleman that conflicts in narratives can lead to irrational behaviors. However, I think that personal growth is achieved when a narrative is manufactured that combines conflicting narratives. In this way a singularity is achieved that provides a better understanding of the world.
William Dare 