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Single Idea 23678

[filed under theme 20. Action / C. Motives for Action / 3. Acting on Reason / a. Practical reason ]

Full Idea

A motive is equally incapable of action and of passion; because it is not a thing that exists, but a thing that is conceived. …Motives may be compared to advice or exhortation.

Gist of Idea

A motive is merely an idea, like advice, and not a force for action

Source

Thomas Reid (Essays on Active Powers 4: Liberty of Agents [1788], 4)

Book Ref

Reid,Thomas: 'Inquiry and Essays', ed/tr. Beanblossom /K.Lehrer [Hackett 1983], p.335

A Reaction

We say people are motivated by greed or anger or love, which seems a bit stronger than mere advice.

The 72 ideas from Thomas Reid

11874 Real identity admits of no degrees [Reid]
23649 No one thinks two sheets possess a single whiteness, but all agree they are both white [Reid]
23648 First we notice and name attributes ('abstracting'); then we notice that subjects share them ('generalising') [Reid]
23652 We must first conceive things before we can consider them [Reid]
23651 Universals are not objects of sense and cannot be imagined - but can be conceived [Reid]
23650 Only individuals exist [Reid]
20051 Reid said that agent causation is a unique type of causation [Reid, by Stout,R]
8383 Day and night are constantly conjoined, but they don't cause one another [Reid, by Crane]
23665 Consciousness is the power of mind to know itself, and minds are grounded in powers [Reid]
23666 It is obvious that there could not be a power without a subject which possesses it [Reid]
23664 Powers are quite distinct and simple, and so cannot be defined [Reid]
23668 Our own nature attributes free determinations to our own will [Reid]
23667 Regular events don't imply a cause, without an innate conviction of universal causation [Reid]
23669 Thinkers say that matter has intrinsic powers, but is also passive and acted upon [Reid]
23670 Scientists don't know the cause of magnetism, and only discover its regulations [Reid]
23671 Laws are rules for effects, but these need a cause; rules of navigation don't navigate [Reid]
23549 We treat testimony with a natural trade off of belief and caution [Reid, by Fricker,M]
23647 Objects have an essential constitution, producing its qualities, which we are too ignorant to define [Reid]
23646 Reference is by name, or a term-plus-circumstance, or ostensively, or by description [Reid]
23645 A word's meaning is the thing conceived, as fixed by linguistic experts [Reid]
11958 Impossibilites are easily conceived in mathematics and geometry [Reid, by Molnar]
6492 Reid is seen as the main direct realist of the eighteenth century [Reid, by Robinson,H]
23634 Accepting the existence of anything presupposes the notion of existence [Reid]
23635 Truths are self-evident to sensible persons who understand them clearly without prejudice [Reid]
23637 Primary qualities are the object of mathematics [Reid]
23638 Secondary qualities conjure up, and are confused with, the sensations which produce them [Reid]
23639 It is unclear whether a toothache is in the mind or in the tooth, but the word has a single meaning [Reid]
23640 Only mature minds can distinguish the qualities of a body [Reid]
23641 People dislike believing without evidence, and try to avoid it [Reid]
23642 If non-rational evidence reaches us, it is reason which then makes use of it [Reid]
7631 Sensation is not committed to any external object, but perception is [Reid]
23653 If you can't distinguish the features of a complex object, your notion of it would be a muddle [Reid]
23656 The structure of languages reveals a uniformity in basic human opinions [Reid]
23654 In obscure matters the few must lead the many, but the many usually lead in common sense [Reid]
23655 An ad hominem argument is good, if it is shown that the man's principles are inconsistent [Reid]
23657 The existence of tensed verbs shows that not all truths are necessary truths [Reid]
23659 If someone denies that he is thinking when he is conscious of it, we can only laugh [Reid]
23662 The existence of ideas is no more obvious than the existence of external objects [Reid]
23661 We are only aware of other beings through our senses; without that, we are alone in the universe [Reid]
23660 The theory of ideas, popular with philosophers, means past existence has to be proved [Reid]
23658 Consciousness is an indefinable and unique operation [Reid]
23663 There are axioms of taste - such as a general consensus about a beautiful face [Reid]
23676 A willed action needs reasonable understanding of what is to be done [Reid]
23677 We all know that mere priority or constant conjunction do not have to imply causation [Reid]
23678 A motive is merely an idea, like advice, and not a force for action [Reid]
23679 The principle of the law of nature is that matter is passive, and is acted upon [Reid]
23680 We are morally free, because we experience it, we are accountable, and we pursue projects [Reid]
23681 The first motion or effect cannot be produced necessarily, so the First Cause must be a free agent [Reid]
23644 Without memory we could have no concept of duration [Reid]
23643 We all trust our distinct memories (but not our distinct imaginings) [Reid]
1356 A person is a unity, and doesn't come in degrees [Reid]
1350 Continuity is needed for existence, otherwise we would say a thing existed after it ceased to exist [Reid]
21322 We treat slowly changing things as identical for the sake of economy in language [Reid]
21320 Identity is familiar to common sense, but very hard to define [Reid]
1352 Thoughts change continually, but the self doesn't [Reid]
1359 Personal identity is the basis of all rights, obligations and responsibility [Reid]
21319 I can hardly care about rational consequence if it wasn't me conceiving the antecedent [Reid]
21323 The identity of a thief is only known by similarity, but memory gives certainty in our own case [Reid]
21321 Memory reveals my past identity - but so does testimony of other witnesses [Reid]
21324 If consciousness is transferable 20 persons can be 1; forgetting implies 1 can be 20 [Reid]
21325 Boy same as young man, young man same as old man, old man not boy, if forgotten! [Reid]
21327 If a stolen horse is identified by similitude, its identity is not therefore merely similitude [Reid]
1366 If consciousness is personal identity, it is continually changing [Reid]
1367 Identity can only be affirmed of things which have a continued existence [Reid]
23629 The ambiguity of words impedes the advancement of knowledge [Reid]
23630 Only philosophers treat ideas as objects [Reid]
23632 Similar effects come from similar causes, and causes are only what are sufficient for the effects [Reid]
23633 Many truths seem obvious, and point to universal agreement - which is what we find [Reid]
23672 To be virtuous, we must care about duty [Reid]
23673 Every worthy man has a principle of honour, and knows what is honourable [Reid]
23674 If an attempted poisoning results in benefits, we still judge the agent a poisoner [Reid]
23675 We shouldn't do to others what would be a wrong to us in similar circumstances [Reid]