267. Rational Motivation

When I have a reason to do something, I’m more likely to do it than another thing I don’t have any reason to do. But often there will be several things that I have at least one reason to do, and I’ll be forced to make a choice about which reason takes priority.

I might then appeal to a hierarchy of reasons to figure out which reason is most important according to my values or beliefs. Depending on the ordering of this hierarchy, I may or may not do the thing that is best in this moment. This matters most when one of the competing reasons is a moral reason. If I choose something other than the morally best option then it seems I’ve failed to be motivated in the right way. I end up doing something other than what I ought to do.

This problem is especially salient when the moral reason is defeated by a reason that is insignificant but nonetheless compelling, such as when the chosen action will add to my personal pleasure. This might happen because my values are not as strong as I think they are or because my reasoning is poor. But regardless, it’s often the case that even the most important reasons can be defeated by mere whim.

Compassion does not operate in this way. It cannot be defeated by reason because it is not motivated by reason. Compassion arises immediately through attention to what is happening in and around me. I choose to act from compassion because I feel intensely that there is genuinely no alternative acceptable to me.

Compassion makes its demands with the force of necessity. I see need and I must respond to it, in exactly the same way as when I feel hungry, I start looking for food. Reasons can be motivating and they often are, but compassion is relentless. Once a need has been seen, either in myself or in another living being, compassion will stop at nothing to have it met.