The Philosophical Foundations of Human Behavior and Motivation

Philosophy of Mind: Mental States and Reality

Functionalism and the Mind-Body Problem

Beyond dualism and monism, Functionalism proposes that mental states are defined by their functional role—their causal relations to sensory inputs, other mental states, and behavioral outputs.

Dualism, Monism, and Emergent Properties

The theory of Emergent Properties attempts to synthesize the most attractive ideas of monism and dualism. Monism holds the view that human beings are formed of a single substance or reality.

Personalism: Unity of Body and Spirit

Personalism corrects previous philosophical thoughts by emphasizing the unity of the human body as simultaneously physical and spiritual.

Understanding Human Behavior

Defining Behavior

Behavior is the observable reaction that an individual has to a stimulus (internal or external). The key difference between the two sides of behavior (observable vs. internal) is that only the self can know what you think. Behavior can be classified as either instinctive or open-ended.

Types of Behavior

• Instinctive Reaction: Occurs when the stimulus elicits an identical reaction in all members of the species.
• Open-Ended Reaction: Occurs when the reaction is not biologically predetermined.

Instinctive vs. Open Conduct

Instinctive Conduct: Instincts are biologically determined response patterns that lead to rigid determination.

Open Conduct: When discussing human beings, very few of their actions are purely instinctive. The discussion and decision-making process that determines the action is less determined by the individual's natural constitution and more by cultural and social factors. New behaviors are acquired through learning.

Motivation and Reasons for Action

Motivation refers to the reasons that give meaning and make the behavior of others comprehensible. These reasons are mental states of the acting individual and are therefore unobservable.

Classification of Reasons

• Primary Reasons: These have a biological basis, are innate, correspond to fundamental biological needs, are common to all humans, and are shared with animals.
• Secondary Reasons: These have a cultural and social base, are transmitted through education, may be unique to a specific culture or individual, and are specific to humans.

Motivation is a critical element of behavior. When reasons are absent or weak, the immediate result is unwillingness or inaction, as there is nothing strong enough to move the individual to action.

Essential Traits of Human Conduct

• The Inadequacy

  The human being comes into the world "unfinished," possessing fewer natural instincts than other species. This presents a greater openness than any other being on the zoological scale.

• Plasticity

  The human being is like a piece of clay—plastic and malleable. While we are born with certain fixed characteristics (eye color, hair, etc.), what is most important is what we can be.

• Dissatisfaction

  The features of inadequacy and lack transform biologically determined behavior into a process of setting and pursuing targets.