This chapter and the two following ones will be devoted to varieties of motivation. In the present chapter, the discussion is fairly general. In the following, I focus on two specific issues, selfishness versus altruism and temporal shortsightedness versus farsightedness. These two issues complement each other, the latter being as it were the intertemporal version of the former, interpersonal contrast. As we shall see, they are also substantially related, in the sense that farsightedness can mimic altruism.

The set of human motivations is a pie that can be sliced any number of ways. Although none of them can claim canonical status, there are four approaches that I have found useful. The first proposes a continuum of motivations, the second and the third both offer a trichotomy, and the fourth a simple dichotomy. The classifications are both somewhat similar and interestingly different, allowing us to illuminate the same behavior from different angles.

From Visceral to Rational

On September 11, 2001, some people jumped to their death from the World Trade Center because of the overwhelming heat. “This should not be really thought of as a choice,” said Louis Garcia, New York City's chief fire marshal. “If you put people at a window and introduce that kind of heat, there's a good chance most people would feel compelled to jump.” There was no real alternative. Subjectively, this may also be the experience of those who drink seawater when freshwater is unavailable.