Archive for May, 2009

Around 50 A.D. a humble slave named Epictetus was born in Heirapolis. Though his situation did not provide him with all freedoms, he was lucky enough to be sent away by his master to study philosophy under Musonius Rufus, a great Stoic Philosopher of the time. His impact on Epictetus would be profound. Sometime after the death of Emperor Nero in 68 A.D., Epictetus was given his freedom, eventually founding his own school in Nicopolis. Despite becoming famous and respected (his school was attended by many children of the Roman elite), Epictetus – inspired by Socrates – continued to live an aesthetic life in a small hut with only a lamp and a rug in his possession. Also (but maybe not intentionally) in the spirit of Socrates, Epictetus left no records of his own. His works “Discourses” and “Enchiridion” were luckily written by his pupil, Arrian. 

Like many Stoics, Epictetus tended to focus on ideas of ethics, and on living the philosophic life. He tended to have a bold view of the human capacities, and a willingness to adopt the proper perspective. One such example is beautifully put;

“Yet God has not only given us these faculties by which we may bear everything that comes to pass without being crushed or depressed thereby, but like a good king or father, he has given us this without let or hinderance, placed wholly at our own disposition, without reserving to himself any power of impediment or restraint.”

In my opinion, one of Epictetus’ great lessons is that our experience is dictated from our perspective and our thoughts. He is known to have pointed out that it is not events that effect us, but our thoughts of such events – that it is not an act or incident that offends us, but our opinion that the given event is insulting. In the above quote, Epictetus plainly puts that we hold the ability to endure all events in our lives though our own consciousness.

One might argue that we do not always take the view of things that is most conducive to our own peace and happiness. The “stupid bills” or the “damn car” or the “f***ing weather” don’t exactly put us in a state of joy. I know what you’re thinking; should we come to love and seek out flat tires and hurricanes? Not necessarily, and I don’t think Epictetus would advise us to do to. He might, however, ask what ABOUT the flat tire we can learn from or appreciate, or what ABOUT the hurricane can he have fun with? Maybe when we’re staying indoors to avoid bad weather, we can take time to study something that fascinates us, maybe a power shortage results in a unique candlelight dinner. 

In addition to the valuable message of the quote, there is a lesson to be learned about the method in which Epictetus writes it. He frames the meaning of the conditions of human life in a way that promotes our appreciation, our positivity. He says “not only” do we been granted this fantastic ability to endure all events by altering our perspective, but that this power is wholly under our control, and its exercise might develop us as people. He COULD have said “yeah, we’ve got this ability to endure hardships with our conscious focus, but we have to work for it, why couldn’t God just be nice to us and make us always at peace instead of having to develop the ability within?” But don’t you see, this would be contradicting his own wisdom! In conveying our capabilities to use the ability to interpret events in an empowering way, he also takes an empowering perspective and EMBRACES AND APPRECIATES the fact that we ourselves cultivate this ability for our own good. This bit of wisdom carries a message and an example.

Where might we apply this to our own lives? How do events in our own lives effect us, and what are the meanings we tie to them? We might endeavor ourselves in providing empowering meaning behind all events in our lives. You might start with appreciating that you weren’t born a slave and you have more to your name than a piece of carpet! But know that even then you could be happy.      : )

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Henry David Thoreau was actually born David Henry Thoreau, after his uncle who died shortly before his birth. His name did not change until after he graduated from college. He was known for being a reflective and simple man, one who studied and valued nature and our relationship with it. 

Most people know Thoreau for his most famous work, Walden, which was composed during his two year project of simple living, where he lived alone in a small cabin near Walden Pond in his hometown of Concord, Massachusetts. Few people are aware that Thoreau was also heavily involve in botany and natural history, and in studying the cycles and seasons of nature – especially in Concord. He was also an avid advocate for hiking, canoeing, and other outdoor recreational activity. His writings on the relations of people and nature can be seen as the beginnings of environmentalism.

Thoreau’s works compile over 20 volumes (this includes not only books and essays, but his own journals and poems), covering vastly more than simply appreciating nature and avoiding taxes (two topics he is quite known for). Here is an interesting quote that we might all relate to:

“Make the most of your regrets; never smother your sorrow, but tend and cherish it till it comes to have a separate and integral interest. To regret deeply is to live afresh.”

The message here appears to be counterintuitive at first, its certainly not common advice. What could he possibly mean by regretting deeply being the same as living afresh? Who says “afresh” anyways? Well, Thoreau does, and here I believe he uses it meaningfully.

Here encourages us to not resist the feelings within us that aren’t pleasant. He believes that they, too, should be appreciated instead of hidden or squashed down. Regrets and sorrow – for Thoreau – have a particular value to them, and when he says that regretting deeply is to live afresh, he likely is telling us that taking heed to these painful emotions can allow us to live ‘in a new or different way’ (thats what “afresh means,” for those of you wondering). 

Regret might teach us about one of our values that we may have violated, possibly something we had not paid attention to prior. Maybe we treated someone harshly, and now we have sinking feeling inside of us about it. Couldn’t we view this feeling as a signal to indicate something important? We know that we haven’t treated someone in a way that we see as best, and a part of us – an important part of us – is letting us know that we’ve gone against what we have determined to be the best way to communicate with people and deal with situations. This could be the impetus to drive us to make note of our behavior and never treat anyone in that way again, it could also be a signal to drive us to confront the issue directly and apologize sincerely.

Similarly, sorrow might bring insight into our own needs, and wisdom to change. Lets say we move away from home for a new job, and we awaken each morning feeling heavy and depressed – we cannot help but think about all that we might be missing out on at home, and the love and special connection that we have with the people we now miss so much. What can we draw from this experience, what kind of juice of life can we squeeze out of something so painful? Well, its possible that we have to change the way we think – change our perspective. We might come to understand that focusing on our losses will bring us to feel these losses, and that we should instead focus on fun ways we can keep our family connections and make new meaningful ones in our new location. This lesson in changing focus might carry over in import ways in other areas of our lives.

Thoreau would probably want us to view these feelings as part of the richness of our experience. Haven’t you had a terrible experience teach you an invaluable lesson? In a way, this kind of pain can drive us to understand ourselves and alter our course for the better. In this sense, being disturbed is a good thing – something that remains “undisturbed” isn’t going to change! So the next time you’re feeling sad, be glad, there’s something to be drawn from it. Plus, you won’t be sad forever, the cycles and seasons are always changing… I think Thoreau might have liked that analogy. 

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Possibly the single most influential philosopher (if not thinker) of all time, Aristotle’s works cover an astounding array of insight in mathematics, biology, physics, philosophy (go figure) and more. Through his massive contribution, he has been referred to as the determiner of the orientation of Western intellectual history. There might be no better man to learn from – especially on the subject of how we might live our best life.

Born in 384 BC, Aristotle’s father was the primary physician to the king of Macedonia. Relatively little is known of Aristotle’s youth, but there is good evidence to believe that both of his parents died early in his life. Though the exact dates vary, it seems clear that Aristotle came to study under Plato around the age of seventeen. When Plato died and left his Academy to his nephew Speusippus, Aristotle went off to Asia Minor to begin his own school. 

One of Aristotle’s principal works is his Nicomachean Ethics, is a fascinating text dealing with his understanding of happiness through reason. In coming to understand happiness for Aristotle, the cultivation of the self seems to be essential – a thought expressed well in the context of virtue by the following quotation:

“Excellence is an art won by training and habituation. We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but we rather have those because we have acted rightly. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.” 

This quote is pivotal in Aristotle’s virtue ethics, and its lesson can be applied to us all – at least on a practical level. Aristotle believes that we are what we do regularly, that our characters are shaped by our own kind of self-conditioning.

Here Aristotle seems to acknowledge the deterministic forces that affect us from within and without. He seems to recognize that as humans we are creatures of habit, and that our lives are firmly forged by the patterns of thought and behavior that we habitually run through.

So… can we label people by what they do frequently? Its probably not ideal to pidgeon-hole people entirely to traits, but think about this: why do you call your shy friend your “shy friend”? Is it because he once was tentative to voice his opinion or disagree with someone verbally? Of course not, he is your “shy friend” because he’s the friend that consistently acts in a shy fashion. He has consistently responded to social situations by reserving his own position, by responding with fear to asserting his personality and views.

If you wish to become responsible with your money, will you call this task complete after restraining your buying impulses twice in the same week? This would seem ridiculous, saving and investing effectively involves knowledge and consistent action. Becoming “one who saves and invests well” implies action over the course of a lifetime, it implies a honing of our values and our regular routes of behavior. In Aristotle’s understanding, those who are responsible (or “act rightly”) with their money are not so because they are innately virtuous people, but because they have cultivated this virtue by consistently and consciously dealing with their money intelligently.

If we espouse to Aristotle’s beliefs here, we may be let down by the understanding that we may not have been born with traits and habits that we see as ideal – but it would make more sense to be liberated by the understanding that we are able to constantly craft ourselves towards these ideals.

It might be exceptionally valuable to ask ourselves: what habits are we cultivating?  Are they those in line with our idea of “excellence,” of “virtue”? What kind of a self are we consciously – … or unconsciously – crafting? How we shape our character helps determine how we shape our destiny. If you take anyone’s word for, let it be Aristotle’s.

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The “Cliff Notes” version of John Stuart Mill usually entails his ethical arguments and his works on utilitarianism. It often isn’t mentioned that his works also cover topics ranging from free speech, to economics, to the duties of parents to their children.

Mill’s childhood is unique and fascinating. Born in 1806 the son of prominent Scottish thinker James Mill, young John Stuart became his father’s intellectual project. James intended for his son to be a brilliant advocate and implementer of his own moral philosophy; utilitarianism. From an early age, John Stuart was given a rigorous regimen of studies, and was restricted from involvement with his peers. At the age of three, he was taught Greek, and by the age of eight, he had read 6 dialogues of Plato, Aesop’s Fables, and much more. At age fourteen he stayed with one of his father’s friends in France and came to study zoology, chemistry, and advanced mathematics. 

John Stuart was human, however, and at age twenty he was crushed by the burdens and expectations placed upon him and had a nervous breakdown. Luckily he recovered, and went on to influence western history through his political involvement and philosophical work.

The following quote comes from Mill’s On Liberty, an eloquent a persuasive work concerning social and political freedom. In the section Of the Liberty of Thought and Discussion, he writes of our ideas of truth and the way in which we deal with facts and other people. I found this quote to be poignant:

“He who knows only his side of the case, knows little of that. His reasons may be good, and no one may be able to refute them. But if he is equally unable to refute the reasons on the opposite side; if he does not so much as know what they are, ha has no ground for preferring either opinion.”

The beauty of this message is that it applies to every facet of our beliefs and values, every realm of our conscious life. Weather it be the way we perform a dance or a technique in martial arts, the way we treat our parents, or the way we make blueberry pancakes, there is always another way of going about things, a way that could be argued to be superior, and could be considered as a better maxim to act upon.

How many times have we had a way of going about things, and fallen into the fallacy that it was the ONLY “right” way? Think of an instance when you had come to the conclusion that your method or belief was the only one to be considered. Can you not also think of a time when that belief was blown out of the water? 

Imagine someone who promotes the use of certain crop fertilizers. He can list the benefits of these fertilizers, the decreased percentages of insects on fertilized crops, and every argument that any farmer has ever used to justify their fertilizer use. When others mention the potentially harmful effects of these fertilizers, he silences them with claims of its economic benefits, increases in plant growth, et cetera. However, his mind has never been open to understanding the stances against these fertilizers, and if asked he couldn’t even explain the arguments of those who want to ban fertilizers. 

Could this man claim to adequately understand the debate? If his mind was open to the idea of other arguments, he would at least be able to cross-reference his reasoning with theirs, and take an informed stance as opposed to a dogmatic one. 

Mill sees this process of integrating perspective and reforming beliefs to be an alive, active process towards truth – or as close an idea of truth as we might come to know. His writings firmly stood against any dogmas, and he believed that even fallacies should be allowed to be spoken, for in understanding them and proving their falsity, we come to a more rounded idea of truth for ourselves – as individuals and as a society. 

We might take this perspective to heart. There may be a better way of thinking about a specific political issue or cause, or a better way to understand an important ethical concern in our life – and we might be holding ourself back by not openly considering other perspective. If nothing else… someone might have a better recipe for blueberry pancakes.

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Boethius’s Consolidations of Philosophy might not be as famous as Plato’s Republic or Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason. Despite its being forgotten from the classroom (especially in comparison with the other “big names”), this work is considered to be quite influential, and it serves as a direct application of the philosophical process to human life.

Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius himself – born around 480 AD - was a consul to the  kingdom of the Ostrogoths. As the son of a consul, with both popes and Roman emperors in his heritage, young Boethius was privileged to attain a formal education in Greek – possibly in Alexandria. Working to a position of vast governmental significance under Theodoric, Boethius was unfortunately accused of treason for a cause that is not known.

After his arrest, Boethius was sent away to Pavia, where he would wait for his own death without any of the fruits of his life’s labor, or the pleasures he has become accustomed. During this wait, he wrote Consolations of Philosophy – where he writes the book as in interesting dialogue between himself and the physical, female embodiment of philosophy itself.

In these dialogues, Boethius explores the ideas of fate, the nature of happiness, and God. Lady Philosophy attempts to reveal to Boethius that his happiness needn’t depend upon fortune and external events, but that – given his understanding of philosophy – it should reside under his command.

These reflections are poignant, and directly relevant to the most important issues Boethius must have been juggling with as he waited for his execution in prison. A particular quote resonates well with Boethius’s fall from remarkably good fortune to remarkably bad, and it brings a fascinating issue to the table:

“For in every ill-turn of fortune the most unhappy sort of unfortunate man is the one who has been happy”

Ah, isn’t it so. Most people can immediately find a situation in their own life to tie in with this quote as soon as it is read. Can you?

Here Boethius expresses an idea to the colloquial phrase “we don’t know what we’ve got ’til its gone.” The insight here is that all of our conditions are filtered through our perspective, and if our conditions are relatively worse than they were before, we’re often going to feel it.

It is commonly said that the poor and wakes up poor every morning and is barely troubled, while if the rich man woke up poor he would be tremendously troubled. We become accustomed to and potentially identifies with certain conveniences, certain pleasures, and certain privileges.

Once these are removed, our focus is not on what is left – on what is present – but on what was, and is now lost. Our daily lives may become filled with ideas of what we once had in similar circumstances, but no longer have. This focus on loss and the past continues, and so we suffer.

The good news is (there’s good news?!), this suffering is completely dependant on the objects of our perception. Our sense of self may have been attached to those things or circumstances which good fortune had brought us. Our continued focus on them in their absence will bring about a sinking feeling.

Think about something simple, like an iPod and a laptop computer. I didn’t have either of these two items a few years ago. If I woke up tomorrow and my macbook/iPod were gone, I would – to be honest – at least feel an initial pang of pain.

These objects have become such an easy way for me to store and record important information, they aide in my ability to study and grow. If I never owned these objects, then waking up without them would likely not bring down my emotional state.

Taking the insight of Boethius into account, we might make note of those things and situations which we genuinely appreciate. We might also understand that our continued focus on that which is lost will only bring about feelings associated with loss – and that overcoming this aspect of our condition implies control of our focus.

Just from reading this blog post, it might be hard to immediately apply these ideas to a situation as serious as that of Boethius. However, if in the near future you only have to deal with a missing iPod and not your impending doom, you might be able to put your conscious perspective to work.

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In this inquiry, “adaptive” behavior or thought can be said to be that of our own design, aligned with our own values, an expression of that which we deem best – of our own true determination of merit.

It can be understood that “adaptivity” in any particular realm of our lives implies a degree of awareness and understanding of that realm. If one remains wholly ignorant in regards to a specific topic, then it seems “adaptivity” cannot most adequately be achieved. With more awareness and understanding in a facet of our lives, we are able to more adequately behave in regard to it with an expression of our own genuine “telos” – our purpose or our own highest ends.

One might come to believe that even if they have little awareness and understanding of a specific realm – let us use for an example; fashion – that their activity which involved apparel is adaptive because it is not contrived or mimicked, but expressed through the individual.

One’s genuine present action could be deemed “authentic” – but “adaptivity” implies relating to a realm of your experience in accord with your highest ends. It is an expression of you Telos in this sense, and could not be so if you nether understood it or had awareness of it. If something is never even given consideration, or if something is not even recognized, it cannot be said to be entirely “adaptive” – for it isn’t consciously aligned with one’s highest values – especially if it isn’t even “conscious” in the first place. One’s “adaptivity” in fashion, for example, would be an expression of one’s own values and merit in terms of what they deem to be the proper purpose and place of clothing in terms of functionality, comfort, appearance, etcetera. If the same garments are thrown on without any recognition of their purpose, or of our value of their functions, then our action in regard to fashion cannot be said to be a most genuine expression of adaptivity.

The same can be said of any realm or facet of our lives. Let us use the example of fitness. If one understands a degree of health principals, of physiology and of the effects of training, and uses one’s awareness in this area, one is able to hone one’s physical fitness – in regards to behaviors involving exercise, diet, and sleep – in the direction that one deems best on their own genuine values. In this respect one might deem hypertrophy and anaerobic capacity as the most congruent aims of fitness, given their values and beliefs. Another might come to be aware of an understanding of fitness sciences and by the evaluation of their own merit, deem fitness to serve the grandest purpose of preserving physical longevity and the high functioning of the mind – in terms of alertness and energy. In these respects, the two individuals both involve themselves in fitness in an adaptive manner – a manner of consciously taking understanding into consideration and transforming action in a way most congruent to their values.

I here only use the examples of “fashion” and “fitness” for illustrative purposes. It is obvious that the complexities of our experience do not have necessary, objective “categories,” but it is useful to use these to understand the relation of awareness and its role in our expression of our unique individual merit.

This correlation between awareness, understanding, and adaptivity may seem daunting, it may appear that so much of our lives are not adaptive since our awareness and understanding are finite. However, this realization needn’t be daunting. It may in fact be interpreted to be liberating and exciting. With every new item our mind comes to grasp, with all the new information we are able to take in about the endless aspects of our lives and of the universe, we are able to act in a way that we can more truly say is genuine as an outflow of that which we deem highest.

Of course we may have blatantly wrong understandings. For instance, one may have a specific belief related to proper diet requirements for health that are entirely false – such as a belief that saturated fat should compose 90% of our daily caloric intake. Our consistent experimentation and learning in these matters will likely bring us to more and more adequate understandings. It is certainly the case that we will all live and die with understandings that are incorrect. For thousands of years, people died believing that the sun rotated around the earth. This did not imply that their actions were any less adaptive than our own – they merely took different beliefs into consideration. So long as we are aware and taking perception into conscious consideration, we are able to strive for adaptivity on our own terms, be our views aligned with the unknowable “objective reality” or not. We still are able to align ourselves with what we deem highest and strive towards our ideals – wether our beliefs be false or not.

It must be noted, of course, that our beliefs and values will change with new information and perspectives – derived from continued awareness and learning. This churning and flowing process is the living sign of an examined life. With this ongoing cycle we strive for what beliefs and values we deem ideal, and what correlating ways of acting and thinking are best. In this way we come to find volitional alignment with our telos – our truest adaptivity.

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It can be said that in order to understand what actions and thoughts we deem best, what kind of life we aim to lead, we must come to a relative conclusion on what is commonly referred to as a “purpose.” For this brief inquiry, “purpose” will refer to an understanding of what is to be most valued in life, and how to live in accordance with these highest values. We come to a “relative conclusion” on this purpose because as we will come to understand, purpose is a living, renewing process.

So how would one come an idea of one’s self-determined purpose if such a framework of value and life choices has not previously been seriously considered? Though there certainly is no specific formula, there are principals and ideas to apply in order to come to one’s own most genuine self-determined purpose. The methods below are not an exhaustive list, nor do they have a necessary order per say, though the listed order may prove to be productive. The process of coming to know and living in accordance with “purpose” aught to be a way of life.

May these ideas serve to churn thought towards authenticity and fulfillment.

Studying Our Motives-

In studying our own motives we can come to gain awareness and understanding of our current principals of action – on those things that we currently act upon as drives for our behavior. We might be able to do this by consciously observing our own decisions. We may ask ourselves, what motive drives me to this action? Is this a motive that I aught to act upon, here or otherwise?

For example, one might notice oneself in a loud argument with one’s neighbor – possibly regarding property. In hindsight, one might observe that one’s motives were in fact to make the other man feel poorly. Or one might realize that one’s motive was in fact to arrive at a proper understanding and to calm down the neighbor. In either case, one might be able to understand if the motives behind one’s action are worthy actions to live by.

This continued process may bring one’s common patterns of actions to light in terms of motivational forces. In understanding what motivates us we can come to understand the values that drive us – be they a need for comfort, a yearning to quarrel, growth in our own potential, contribution to the quality of life of others, etcetera. We can then determine weather or not these motives and values can exist if we were to live to our highest purpose, in alignment with that which we deem best.

Observing One’s Own Conception of “Right Action”-

In order to begin to understand one’s own understanding of “right action.” By “right action” I here refer to that which we understand as the proper action to take in a given situation. Everyone has some idea of these right actions, these “shoulds” in their own behavior. This is much like gaining awareness of our motives – but it is not gaining awareness of what our subconscious deems to be our best motives.

For instance when one is awaken by the sun in the morning, one may have an understanding that the best course of action would be to arise promptly and begin a specific project or task immediately. Often, these understandings are not acted upon, they are merely recognized and then ignored. It is important to ask ourselves the origin of these thoughts. Why do we recognize that awakening promptly is the ideal action? It is possible that we would like to cultivate the character of a productive individual, it is possible that we recognize rationally that progress in our project is more valuable that another a few minutes of comfort under the covers.

Searching Without-

Undoubtably, this search for our purpose is – a great extent – an internal process of analysis. However, that need not imply that we become an island. In order to gain perspective on our own understandings and motives, we aught refer to the works of other thinkers, some of whom we will find have struggled with ideas similar to our own.

It is also important to understand the value systems of other people, and information from a variety of sources, in order to gain a broader perspective on the potentials of beliefs, values, and purposes. This may involve reading philosophy, psychology, rich novels, or communicating and juggling ideas of life with those of different opinions. 

Determining Our Highest Values-

The reason this seemingly obvious portion of the purpose-understanding process is listed after the other methods is due to the fact that following through with the above methods is likely to allow one to gain an in-depth perception of one’s own current motivators and values, in addition to those values that we might deem highest by our self-determination.

This careful process will involve understanding what values are to be lived by and acted upon, and why. In doing this, we must be diligent to observe ourselves and alter our thoughts and actions towards that which we deem highest and best. 

Through these means, one can hopefully assemble a base level of self-understanding and the understanding of ideals in values. 

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What is Commitment, Anyway?

”Commitment” is a funny term. It is colloquially used to describe a serious, thought out decision in which a final ends has been determined. For instance, people may commit the a monogamous relationship, or commit to exercise daily, or commit to making a certain amount of money in a certain span of time.

So, what might we say distinguishes a “commitment” from a “decision.” It might very well be said that the two are synonymous, or maybe only signify a degree of deciding (commitment being more serious). If I decide to exercise daily, I have determined what I think is best and will act upon it. If I commit to daily exercise, then it seems as if I do the same.

In searching for a separate understanding of what we might use to understand commitment, we can check out its coloquial use. It is common to state that commitment implies following through on a decision despite thinking and feeling otherwise. In this way, a decision involves acting on what we think is best in the moment, while commitment implies going against what we think is best in the moment and instead following through on actions in line with our “commitment.”

If commitment did not involve going against our present judgement, then it would be the same as any other decision. We will say that commitment involves these “parameters” that limit our choices and channel us down a specific path.

To boil down our current model: A decision involves behavior taken for specific ends which we presently determine to be best. Commitment involves behaving on a decision not for the sake of the decision itself, instead of justifying our present decision by its ends.

So Why do We Commit?

It seems to be a valid question. Why would be place parameters on what we allow ourselves to do?! For instance, lets take the example of the person who commits to exercising daily. If that person were in a certain state and in certain circumstances, and did NOT think that it was best for him to exercise, why would he do so?

Similarly, we could take the example of the person who has committed to making $5000 in the next two weeks. If he was in a certain state and circumstances, and determined that it was not best for him to pursue this money, why would he continue to strive for his monetary goal?

The reasons might vary, I will here list two plausible reasons.

1) The first justification for commitment involves the fact that the person understands – at the moment of their commitment – that their emotional states and environment will constantly be changing. They know the specific perspective that they think is BEST in terms of what they value most in life will change with these other factors. As a result, they place abstract value on the “commitment” itself, instead of flowing with whatever decision the moment presents as best in their minds. Hence, the man who is choosing weather or not to exercise may not be able to rationally justify working out in his present mind-state, but he trusts his judgement from the perspective of his past state and circumstance and more adequate that his present perspective in determining what is genuinely best for him.

2) The second justification for commitment might be in order to cultivate the character of dedication, the ability to apply oneself consistently without excuses or interruption of purpose. For instance – in the example of the person committed to making a specific amount of money – despite the fact that he cannot justify his financial goal in the moment, will continue to take action to make money in order to prove his own efficacy and develop a honed ability to focus.

This is by no means an exhaustive list of justifications for commitment, as stated before, these are just tow plausible examples.

What these above mental process have in common is the following: BOTH OF THEM INVOLVE PLACING AN ABSTRACT VALUE ON THE “DECISION,” AS OPPOSED TO MERELY BEHAVING IN THE PRESENT BASED ON PRESENT JUDGEMENT. Any thought process that does this seems to function as a commitment of sorts.

To explain this easily, lets imagine a scale in one’s mind when one makes a choice. If this choice only involves what one feels, or rational justification from the past and present, then this is not commitment. If, however, if the weight of the committed decision ITSELF effects the “choosing scale,” then the “commitment mechanism” that we are outlining here has come into play!

This commitment mechanism seems to involve a degree of what is commonly referred to as “faith,” for it involves a kind of trust in one’s choices despite lack of present justification in feeling or in reason.

What are the Consequences of Commitment?

Now that you’ve been fully inundated with philosophical jargon, and hopefully understand this mechanism, lets turn to the consequences of commitment. This short “blurbish” version of an inquiry won’t suffice to go into the infinite posibility for response in this regard. I will, however, dish out a few ideas about the potentials.

It might be seen as potentially dangerous to lean one’s behavior outside the parameters of what appears just in the moment, and certainly closing oneself off to one’s present judgements for too long cannot be healthy. It might also be said that commitment gives us more freedom as individuals. This seems counter-intuitive, since commitment seems to limit the range of our behavior. However, if we establish our own commitments, and place the deterministic factors upon ourselves, then we can become less fluctuating in our purpose when presented with the deterministic factors that come from without.

Something to contemplate. 

(NOTE: This is a small portion of a much larger work I am composing on this issue, but I think that laying out this idea in easy to understand terms will give people something interesting to think about.)

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Most people mean well, or, they hope to mean well. Despite our own senses, it is extremely difficult to detect our own actual motives. Our lives are full of instances where we would hope our motives to be a certain way, but we might in fact be driven by completely different reasons, reasons that we ourselves would not look highly upon.

For instance, we might break up with a lover, believing that the breakup is justified because of logistical reasons – maybe we’re moving to a new apartment farther away and we don’t think we’d be able to see them as often. In fact, however, the motive might be a chance to finally mingle with that attractive and flirty new coworker. We may treat our friend with respect, believing that our intention was based on a virtuous belief in dealing with people (”of course we are all equal, this man deserves no less than respect, etc…”). In fact, however, our motive may be a secret hope that the TV he is giving away will be given to us and not one of his other friends. We may believe that we compete in sport for the sake of developing our own potential against other skilled opponents, and meeting interesting people in the community. In fact, our motive may be to increase our sense of self-worth through shiny trophies. 

So how do we live and deal with this interesting little facet of the human condition? Do we accept that we will never know our true motives and disregard thought on interpreting it at all? I believe that we can, in fact, find a partial solution to this paradox, and bring about higher awareness of our motives and greater alignment with the ones we would choose to strongly live by.

      The first part of this process is in understanding what we believe to be our best motive in a given situation, and to consciously aim to act through this motive. The awareness of what we want to actually drive us is crucial to ever being driven by that motive in the first place. Lets take the example of sport competition. We might look at the various reasons we have to compete, and determine that the motive we want to drive is not the unhealthy motive to dominate others and feel good about ourselves, but the healthy motive of expanding our capacities by putting them to the highest test – giving our all and learning as much as we can – despite who ends up on the podium. We ideally see the competition as an enriching experience where we are able to meet people, watch fun matches, and test our own capacities. Now you can ask yourself, “how can I be empowered by this motive?” or “how would I act to really embody this strong, healthy motive?” or “how would someone act if this motive was their drive?” You might determine that acting through this motive would involve having fun meeting other competitors and being excited to compete against them. Once you determine them, wouldn’t it be empowering to act through them? 

      The second part of the process involves observing our thoughts and feelings and figuring out what our motives are (to the best of our ability) and if they are or are congruent to what we believe to be our best motive. This is how we can cross-reference our experience and peer in at our own intention. We can go right back to the example of the competition. Lets say that we realize intense anxiety after a loss, and thought loops about what other people think of us now. Whoooaaa now. That doesn’t seem to be in line with what we determined to be the highest motive for competing. We had this awesome, glorious, growth-oriented reason to compete, but in our minds it looks like we’re propelled by a drive to look talented and skilled in front of others, and in front of ourselves. It seems like our actual motive is protecting and building up our self-concept! This isn’t necessarily a bad thing – the awareness of it is a good thing when combined with the knowledge of what we want to drive us in our lives. It brings us right to the third part in the process.

      The third step here is to identify how we would feel and behave if our ideal motives were our actual motives. If we truly could live through the motives we deem highest, is we could be driven by the values that we want to drive us, how would we be feeling and behaving right now. Going back to our example, how might we feel after loosing our first match in a competition if our motivation for being there was truly to enrich our lives by testing ourselves and experiencing and watching fun matches? Well, we might even be smiling thinking about the different aspects of our performance; what we did well with, what we didn’t time precisely, what movements felt fluid. We might even be writing these things down eagerly. Or we might be enthusiastically meeting other players and watching talented people in our sport play against one another. 

      The fourth and last part of the process is taking action. We must understand that if we truly want to be driven by our ideal motives, our highest intentions, than we must embody it. So as a competitor, this would involve TAKING ACTION, knowing that this experience can mean so much more an living through those ideal motives. This might very well be a case of fake it until you make it, but hey, you gotta start somewhere! This allows us to see the real value in the motives that are really most congruent to us.

      So thats it, I broke it down into four little segments here lets review:

*Number one – determine your highest motive and aim to act through it

*Number two – determine how you’re thinking and feeling and what that means about your actual motives

*Number three – identify if you are off course, and come to a conclusion on how you WOULD be acting and feeling if you WERE driven by your ideal intention

*Number four – complete the loop and again ACT, THINK, and FEEL how you would if you were carried by your highest motives.

This is not only a tool that we can use to help us detect (to a degree) our actual motives -  but it is also a tool for bringing about action from the motives that we see as ideal – a function that is equally or more important. If we can hold these ideal motives in mind and be aware of ourself, we can – over time – come to mold our nature towards our highest motives. By consistently acting in congruence to what we believe to be best, we can bring about the habits of change.

So the next time you find yourself hoping that you are driven by such-and-such, or hoping that your motive is this-or-that, take a second to understand your ideal motive, act through it, and observe yourself. We might not be able to objectively know our motive, but with these simple practices we can help close the gap on this paradox and hopefully bring some beautiful unity between our values and our volition.

Aaah, thats right. Breathe that in, thats the smell of a confident, empowered view of humanity… oh yeeeeaaaaah.

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