PHIL Meaning Of Life Unit 2:4

Desires and Their Complexities

  • Discussion on human desires and motivations, highlighting the differences between what people wish they desired.

  • Different reasons for wishing for certain desires are explored.

Examples of Desires

  • Desire to Cook:

    • Health Motivation:

    • A person might wish for a strong desire to cook to eat more healthily, avoiding the frequency of using a microwave in favor of fresh meals.

    • Influence of Cooking Shows:

    • Alternatively, another might desire this skill because they see happy, content people on cooking shows, demonstrating that desires can be motivated by external influences.

  • Desire to Be Healthy:

    • Someone might not need to cook but can still maintain health through purchasing decisions that steer them towards healthier foods without necessitating cooking.

  • Spectrum of Desires:

    • There exists a wide range of desires people wish they had, varying in intensity from weak to strong.

  • Second-order Volitions:

    • The desire strength is also considered, reflecting a more profound self-evaluation of what one wishes their desires to be.

Frankfurt's Perspective on Desires

  • Non-Moral Consideration:

    • Frankfurt is not primarily concerned with the morality of desires, instead focusing on individual autonomy and the assessment of one’s desires and motivations without the constraints of biology or social environment.

  • Desiring Desires:

    • There’s recognition that individuals may wish for certain desires that would better suit their lifestyles.

Specific Cases of Wishing for Desires

  • Weak Desire to Smoke:

    • In hypothetical situations, an individual may wish for a weak desire to smoke as it could improve social networking opportunities, despite personal discomfort or health risk involved.

  • Weak Desire to Be Social:

    • A person might wish for a weak social desire for work-related interactions despite personal inclinations toward solitude.

  • The Wanton Character:

    • A wanton is described as having strong desires without preference for their nature; they simply want strong motivations for action.

Assessment of Desires

  • Volitional Hierarchy:

    • A distinction is made between first-order desires (actual desires) and second-order desires (wishes regarding desires’ nature and strength).

    • First Order Desires: The immediate wants such as desires to exercise or to eat certain foods.

    • Second Order Volitions: Refers to the desire to want certain desires (e.g., a desire to desire to exercise).

  • Implications for Autonomy:

    • Frankfurt argues that individuals need to periodically assess their desires for a more autonomous and fulfilling life journey.

Distinctions Made in Desire Assessment

  • Weak vs. Strong Desires:

    • Desires can be quantified on a spectrum, and one can wish for either weak or strong versions of various desires, thereby creating complex layers of motivation.

  • Pragmatic Reasons:

    • The pragmatic aspect of desires: some individuals might cultivate weak desires for social interaction for professional advancement without a deep-rooted inclination toward it.

The Desire Supermarket Analogy

  • God's Selection of Desires:

    • An imaginative scenario posits a pre-birth selection of desires, where individuals could choose both what desires to have and their strength.

    • This reflects an idealized control over one’s desires, contrasting with the randomness of how desires typically form post-birth.

  • Frustration with Arbitrary Desire Formation:

    • Frankfurt concludes that individuals should prefer a proactive stance in choosing their desires over accepting arbitrary ones forced by circumstances.

The Wanton's Lack of Reflection

  • Desires without Reflection:

    • The wanton’s existence represents a scenario where individuals act based solely on strong desires without assessing their appropriateness or fitness for their lives, leading to potential conflict and dissatisfaction.

  • Example of an Olympic Athlete:

    • Even a successful wanton, like an Olympic athlete, might find that their strong desire does not align with their personal fulfillment, indicating the need for self-reflection.

Practical Steps Toward Desire Modification

  • Cultivating Desires:

    • Individuals may take action to foster a desired change in their desires, such as making deliberate efforts to develop a strong desire for activities that promote health or social engagement.

  • Personal Development Exercises:

    • Practice scenarios are encouraged, where desired actions are rehearsed, increasing likelihood of implementing those desires in real-life situations (e.g., practicing assertiveness in a work context).

Conclusion

  • Individuals are urged to proactively engage in assessing, developing, and refining their desires to lead more fulfilling lives, highlighting the importance of desire management and autonomous decision-making.