A Glossary of Descriptive Psychology Concepts

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reason

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A State of Affairs that has motivational relevance for behavior.
notes
When we group reasons into family resemblance groups, we find four major groups, with one of them having three subgroups. The following are the kinds of reasons people ultimately have.
  1. Hedonic
    variations on pleasure, pain, noxiousness, disgustingness
  2. Prudential
    variations on my self interest, what is good for me (or bad for me), what is to my advantage (or disadvantage)
  3. Ethical
    variations on what is right or wrong, good or bad, fair or unfair, just or unjust and with whether I have a duty or obligation
  4. Aesthetic
    variations on the primitive notion of fittingness
    1. Artistic
      how things fit together
    2. Social
      what the situation calls for
    3. Intellectual
      what fits the facts of the matter