{"id":1382,"date":"2018-06-09T12:27:15","date_gmt":"2018-06-09T12:27:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aurelis.org\/blog\/?p=1382"},"modified":"2018-06-11T12:28:30","modified_gmt":"2018-06-11T12:28:30","slug":"moral-motivation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aurelis.org\/blog\/motivation\/moral-motivation","title":{"rendered":"Moral Motivation"},"content":{"rendered":"

If morality doesn\u2019t lead to action, then what\u2019s the use?<\/h3>\n

Let good people do good things.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

How?<\/p>\n

I guess the doing should not be the focus of an additional endeavor. It should be part and parcel of the moral communication itself. For instance, telling a child what is moral behavior, should deeply touch the child in such a way that it feels a spontaneous urge to act out this moral behavior.<\/p>\n

Not for \u2018doing good\u2019 but out of \u2018being good.\u2019<\/p>\n

You may say I\u2019m a dreamer<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

but I think I\u2019m just being efficient in a realistic way. I do like to dream from time to time but not right now. This is serious.<\/p>\n

So, concretely, how does this \u2018moral motivation\u2019 work? Firstly, how does it not?<\/p>\n

Pure reason never motivates<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The error has frequently been made. Person A is rationally convinced of the correctness of some behavior, then tells person B to act this way and is negatively amazed of the result. Is person B lazy, dumb headed, or obstructive \u2018as usual?<\/p>\n

Answer: person B is just not being motivated. We should all learn to see motivation as a shared responsibility also for the person who brings for instance some moral advice. Now, pure reason just does not motivate. It\u2019s like sticking an aspirin on your head. It just doesn\u2019t work. (Let\u2019s not start talking about placebo.)<\/p>\n

However, pure reason can point to causes and consequences of behavior. It can help through constraint satisfaction towards a suitable solution. It certainly has a role to play whenever possible. But you have to get the aspirin in the mouth, not on the front.<\/p>\n

The key: communication<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I mean \u2018deep\u2019 communication. The moral motivator needs to see the other person as person<\/em>. This of course requires a good dose of empathy. Very important is the insight that eventually, all motivation starts inside the person himself.<\/p>\n

You may \u2018invite\u2019 this.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The invitation can come from you and enter the other person. This is the working instrument of the \u2018motivator.\u2019 It is as a matter of fact a kind of two-way communication<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Role of emotions<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Motivations are always<\/em> emotions. Morality always<\/em> involves emotions. For instance:<\/p>\n