It seems to me that in modern discussions about politics, morality, religion, corruption, wars, or even everyday human behavior, one thing is very often missing — an honest attempt to answer a simple question:
What most often truly drives human behavior?
For many years I have reflected on this question and gradually came to the conclusion that there exists a certain stable pattern in the motivation of human behavior that concerns the overwhelming majority of people.
In future posts I intend to show what a significant role this pattern plays in various spheres of social life. And therefore, understanding and recognizing this phenomenon may allow us to use it as a tool for a deeper analysis of human relations and social processes, and even to some extent for predicting them.
But first I would like to try, step by step and through ordinary life examples, to show that this pattern really does exist and work.
I have already partially touched on this subject in previous discussions in the Political Philosophy and Ethics categories. But gradually I realized that this issue is much broader and perhaps closer precisely to social philosophy.
Every Day
If any of us tries to trace what he or she does during an ordinary day, we will see approximately the following:
You wake up — you need to wash and refresh yourself. You want or need breakfast because lunch is still far away. You need to get dressed before leaving home, and not only decently, but for women often beautifully as well. You go to work to earn money in order to buy food, clothes, pay for housing, water, gas, electricity, and recreation.
At work you try to work better — either to earn more money or to improve your status, again with the same thought of a stable or larger income.
The road home, like the road to work, is usually chosen to be more convenient, faster, cheaper. You stop by a store to buy food or other things — again with the same earned money.
At home — dinner, rest, watching television, which was also once bought with earned money, and then peacefully going to sleep in a warm bed.
And so it goes — every day, every month, every year, practically an entire lifetime.
And then new desires appear: on weekends to enjoy a favorite sport or relax with family outdoors. During vacation — to travel. For this, you may want to buy a car. Later — your own house.
Now try to analyze: what drives a person in all these ordinary actions?
And I think most people will come to the conclusion: the desire to satisfy personal needs, desires, interests.
Yes, this is completely natural, normal, and logical. This is how the overwhelming majority of people in the world live and think.
Historical Perspective
If we look at this historically, then for primitive humans the main concerns were food, clothing, shelter, safety, and reproduction. This was a natural instinct of self-preservation.
Without satisfying these needs, a person simply could not survive.
Those who better secured their interests and needs adapted to life and survived more successfully.
As civilization developed, these basic needs gradually began to be satisfied. But at the same time, expectations also increased: people wanted tastier food, more comfortable homes, more beautiful and convenient clothing.
The striving to satisfy these needs is, in essence, the striving to satisfy personal interests. It is natural, necessary, and beneficial for each individual.
But let us examine this motivation in more detail — beginning with childhood.
About Childhood
As soon as a child is born, he or she already instinctively demands the satisfaction of personal needs. The child cries when hungry, cold, or in pain.
Later, children pull toys toward themselves, sometimes even taking those belonging to others. They try to do what they themselves want, rather than what adults demand.
At school, children usually prefer playing and гуляти rather than making efforts in study. They seek a more advantageous position among peers and try to stand out somehow.
All this is primarily the desire to satisfy one’s own needs and interests. In childhood this manifests itself almost instinctively and is often called childish egoism.
Later, in the upper grades, a young person begins to think about the future: college, university, profession, future life. They begin to take study more seriously if they see benefit in it for themselves.
The same happens among peers: some try to stand out through natural abilities, others through sports, study, clothing, or behavior.
An adult already much more consciously follows personal interests and benefits: choosing a profession, work, place of residence, level of income.
After finishing education, people in choosing work are often guided mainly by personal advantage — within the framework of their own understanding of life.
I also regard parental care for children as a manifestation of personal interest. Parents want to see their children healthy, successful, and happy. This too is part of their personal needs and interests.
Further Life
Beginning their working life, some people immediately try to prove themselves from the best side, work conscientiously, master new skills, improve qualifications. Others, if salary depends little on effort, work less diligently. But when such behavior threatens salary or career, people usually adjust their behavior.
Both the first and the second care about their own benefit.
The desire to defend personal interests appears especially clearly in conflict situations, when a person’s interests collide with the interests of other people or society. Here the majority defend their own interests as strongly as they can.
But there is also a broader question — the meaning of life.
Some people, having created for themselves a more or less stable life, strive only for “tomorrow not to be worse than today.”
Others want to live better and therefore try to achieve more.
For some, the peak of success is a large house, a good car, a secure life, and a happy family.
But there are also people who set great goals before themselves and are capable of sacrificing personal comfort, advantage, and sometimes even life itself for certain ideas or noble aims. Such people do exist. But in my opinion they represent a minority.
Everything stated above may seem so obvious that it appears banal. But it is precisely from such seemingly banal things that the general pattern of human behavior is formed.
After long reflection and attempts to find the most accurate wording possible, I formulated the following pattern:
“The majority of people in the majority of situations are guided by personal interest and personal benefit.”
I called this the Law (or pattern) of Personal Interest — abbreviated as LPI.
I do not deny the existence of altruism. But I believe that in most life situations most people are still guided primarily by their own interests.
Nor do I claim that this is good or bad. I merely believe that it is real, natural, and has the character of a stable pattern.
Unlike the exact sciences, social and philosophical patterns are often demonstrated not by formulas but by a large number of life examples, observations, and analysis of cause-and-effect relationships. Such patterns have a statistical character.
Many people may say:
“This is simply egoism and nothing more.”
But in my opinion, aggressive egoism is only one form of personal interest. A much larger part consists of the so-called reasonable or healthy egoism — when a person, while defending personal interests, is still capable of compromise and coexistence with others.
I am also far from thinking that no one has ever come to similar ideas before. Ancient and later philosophers expressed thoughts about the important role of personal interest in human behavior.
But this exact formulation of the Law I developed myself more than thirty years ago, and only now, being retired, am I trying for the first time to discuss it publicly on a philosophy forum.
In future posts I would like to show how this principle manifests itself in much more serious spheres:
politics, economics, trade, corruption, crime, and other areas of social life.
I realize how ambitious this sounds. But I can no longer keep this idea to myself.
I am ready for criticism and debate. But try, based even on these ordinary life examples, to prove that this pattern does not work
