Fundamental concepts in

Motivation
Chapter 02

Dualism
Dualism means two aspects or two sides or two
views of something. Several philosophers and
thinkers have identified two different
dimensions of human life. This is called dualism.
There are four dimensions of dualism.
The first dimension (Russell)
The second dimension (Murphy)
The third dimension (Plato)
The fourth dimension (Aristotle)

The First Dimension (Russell)

Bertrand Russell was a renowned philosopher,
mathematician and a historian in the twentieth
century.
He conjectured a view of humans before the
beginnings of civilization and attempted to
determine what must have been the thoughts of
human beings at that time about life and about
their surroundings.

Russell , thus, postulated the following:

Primitive man was aware of two distinctions:

a) Humans and animals had self -induced motion, while
inanimate objects did not.
b) Humans were better than animals in terms of the use
of tools, foresight and rudimentary moral values.
)Primitive humans were also aware of some basic moral
values such as legitimate ownership and possession,
family relationships etc., and they were aware of the
dualism that such moral values or understanding were
found only in humans and not in animals.

The Second Dimension (Murphy)

Murphys work on dreams and personality development is monumental.
Murphys views are identified as follows:
a) Dreams form a foundation for self- concept.
b) In a dream, humans have motion and activity, while the body is
immobile.
c) Leads to the concept of soul and body being different (difference
between animate and inanimate bodies).
d) Soul is not dependent on body.
Murphy propounded that dreams have strong influence over the formation
of our self- concept and the development of our personality. Thus, dreams
do strongly influence the determination of our behavior and are, therefore,
powerfully connected to human motivation.

Third Dimension (Plato)

Plato was a Greek philosopher and his views on dualism
as below:
1. Human beings have perceptions about things around
them that are imperfect manifestation of reality, resulting in
two different worlds:
a) Ultimate reality
b) Perceptions
2. Perceptions lead to reasoning and ideas so that, again,
there are two nations:
c) Perceptions of material objects
d) Ideas based on reasoning

The Fourth Dimension (Aristotle)

Aristotle views on dualism may be expressed in a simplified
form as follows.
1. Doctrine of universal distinction of the form from the soul
for all living things.
2. All living things have two entities: Body and Soul
a) Body
According to Aristotle, the body is in material form and is
mortal.
b) Soul and material.
The soul is non-material, has no form and is immortal. Aristotle
also included mind as part of soul. The mind is also nonmaterial, has no shape or form and is immortal.

3) Soul has three grades: Vegetative, Sensitive and

Rational
a) Vegetative soul
It is concerned with propagation and growth and is found in
all living things, that is, plants, animals and humans.
b) Sensitive soul
It is concerned with senses, locomotion and appetite and is
found in humans and animals.
c) Rational soul
It relates to reasoning and is divine and immortal. It is
found only in humans.

Determination of behavior
Human behavior is a complex phenomena and it
is determined by wide variety of complex
variables.
The way we behave or avoid to behave is the
outcome of choices we make in our minds.
And thus the product of decision making
processes in our minds.
Some of the significant factors are

1. Knowledge

Our behavior is determined by our knowledge of environment,

our actions and their consequences. The influence of knowledge
on human behavior and motivation is very significant
According to Socrates, knowledge equals virtue, and right
knowing leads to right action.
Plato say Ultimate good can be achieved by virtue of balancing
the wisdom, will power and self-control. Knowledge which is
basis for the wisdom.
According to Aristotle, the highest goal of human life is
happiness, that can be achieved through a balance between
virtue and reason. Both virtue and reason emanate from
knowledge. Somethimg is virtuous only when we know it.

2. Will and free will

Will is the strength to believe in act, whereas free
will is the will to choose freely without any
pressure.
According to Aristotle, reason, will and free will
lead to balanced action or desirable behavior.

3. Hedonism
Hedonism means the act of seeking pleasure and avoiding
pain.
L.T Torland (1928) identified three variations of hedonism:
a. Pleasure of the present.
b. Pleasure of the future.
c. Pleasure of the past.
Alternatively, the three variations on tha opposite
dimensions of hedonism are identified as follows.
Pain of the present.
Pain of the future.
Pain of the past.

4. Instincts
Instinct is natural tendency that triggers specific
actions. we inherit several instincts that have been
handed down from generation to generation over
long periods of time going back to pre-history.
Instincts are inherited through genes.
From psychological perspective human behavior
may be classified into two groups
Animal behavior
Human behavior

5. Active unconscious factors

Ideas compete for space in the conscious part of
human mind, failing in which these become
unconscious and continue to influence behavior.
Such ideas are know as active unconscious
factors.

Darwins theory of Evolution

The main outcome of evolutionary theory are
1. There is a continuity in development from
lowest life forms to the highest.
2. Survival requires adaption to the prevailing
environment.
3. The above two factors trigger motivation that
leads to animal and human behavior.