Posted by:
Gay Philosopher
(
)
Date: May 29, 2011 10:44PM
Hello,
I've often wondered what people live for, which prompted me to do some research on motivation. There are extrinsic motivators, such as bonuses for a job well done at work, and intrinsic ones, such as the pleasure of watching films about topics that we find interesting.
After reading Wikipedia a bit, I came across Steven Reiss's theory that we have 16 basic desires that motivate us:
1. Acceptance, the need for approval
2. Curiosity, the need to learn
3. Eating, the need for food
4. Family, the need to raise children
5. Honor, the need to be loyal to the traditional values of one's clan/ethnic group
6. Idealism, the need for social justice
7. Independence, the need for individuality
8. Order, the need for organized, stable, predictable environments
9. Physical activity, the need for exercise
10. Power, the need for influence of will
11. Romance, the need for sex
12. Saving, the need to collect
13. Social contact, the need for friends (peer relationships)
14. Status, the need for social standing/importance
15. Tranquility, the need to be safe
16. Vengeance, the need to strike back/to win
He believes that we differ in the degree to which we're motivated by these desires, but that they're foundational. Do you agree?
Are any missing?
As I ask myself that question and ponder Reiss's list, I feel as if something significant is missing. It's as if Reiss has identified 16 trees in a much larger forest that, as a whole, seems to mean something very different from the sum of its plants. For me, what seems to be missing is an overarching sense of meaning. "What's it all *for*, anyway?"
And the answer to that question is spiritual in nature. Even if you believe that all religions are myths, and all spiritual pursuits amount to nothing but emotional self-regulation through participation in contemplative practices and rituals in groups intended to achieve synchrony--thus bonding--and alleviate anxiety, I think that a powerful sense of awe for existence--a spiritual awe--impels a lot of behavior and makes life feel intensely meaningful for many people, much as it did for the early, persecuted Mormons. They lived and suffered for something greater than themselves. They had what they believed to be a living prophet who literally connected them to the mystery of the divine, which they believed was literal and real.
As I think about the list, it seems to miss the boat with regard to something that all of us talk about, but isn't mentioned once: love. Is romance really only about sex? Is it possible for there to be romance without sex? I think that it is. Where does the "need" to raise children fit in for a childless couple or a single gay male?
It seems to me that the human animal may be impelled to act by the list of 16, but the person needs something more, a sense that his or her life is significant and meaningful, that it has a greater purpose than mere homeostasis. I believe that life isn't so much about acting, but interpreting action--our own and that of others. And that action is ultimately geared toward more than simply securing status or tranquility. It's about using one's talents to create--a "spiritual" gift if ever there was one. By creating, we give our world our own personal imprint. Our creations often outlast us.
But again, what's it all for? Why, really, do we get up each day, again and again, decade after decade? We have a sense that over the decades we're moving toward some goal, however vague, and that things will get better.
What is that goal for you, if you have one? Do you feel that life is meaningful? Do you see it as a spiritual adventure?
What do you live for?
Steve