First, I think this bears on the makeup of one’s utility function. If your UF contains absolutes, infinite value judgments, then in my opinion, it is impossible not to be truly motivated toward them. No pushing is ever required; at least, it never feels like pushing. Obstacles just manifest to the mind in the form of fun challenges that only amplify the engagement, because you already know you have the will to win. If your UF does not include absolutes, or you step down to the levels that are finite (for the record, I see no contradiction in a UF with one infinite and arbitrarily many finites), that is where this sort of akrasia emerges, because motivation naturally flickers in and out between those various finite objects at different times.
Interestingly, this is almost the opposite of the typical form of akrasia, not doing something against your better judgment. As with that, though, noticing it when it happens, in my opinion, is the first step to making it less akratic. I’ve absolutely felt the difference, at various times in my life, between actually having the thing and trying to “do” it for all of Kaj’s examples (motivation, inspiration, empathy, and so on). The best solution I’ve personally found is, when possible, to simply wait for the real quality to return, and it always does. For example, when working on private writing projects, I write when a jolt of inspiration strikes, then wait for the next brilliant idea and not try to force it; if I do, I always produce inferior quality writing. When waiting isn’t practical, such as academic projects with a deadline, I don’t have such an easy path to always put in my best-quality work. This is one major reason why I think that being highly gifted doesn’t necessarily translate to exceptional academic performance; the education system isn’t really adapted to how at least some great minds operate.
If your UF contains absolutes, infinite value judgments, then in my opinion, it is impossible not to be truly motivated toward them.
I actually think that this depends on the nature of the absolutes. I think a lot of the fake qualities emerge because a part of one’s mind feels that e.g. not being productive would be shameful and infinitely bad, and then it’s so freaked out about the thought of not being productive that it tries to do everything it can to force the person into being productive. But since it’s a part that can’t actually generate genuine motivation, it may end up blocking the genuine motivation and thus prevent progress—exactly because it sees no-productivity as so infinitely bad that it can’t stand the thought of spending any time not being productive. And thus it’s incapable of doing the thing of “wait for the real quality to return” that you mention, because that would take time and meanwhile AAAAAAH I’M NOT BEING PRODUCTIVE.
(Productivity just being one specific example, a similar logic can be applied to the other examples too.)
This is way too interesting not to have comments!
First, I think this bears on the makeup of one’s utility function. If your UF contains absolutes, infinite value judgments, then in my opinion, it is impossible not to be truly motivated toward them. No pushing is ever required; at least, it never feels like pushing. Obstacles just manifest to the mind in the form of fun challenges that only amplify the engagement, because you already know you have the will to win. If your UF does not include absolutes, or you step down to the levels that are finite (for the record, I see no contradiction in a UF with one infinite and arbitrarily many finites), that is where this sort of akrasia emerges, because motivation naturally flickers in and out between those various finite objects at different times.
Interestingly, this is almost the opposite of the typical form of akrasia, not doing something against your better judgment. As with that, though, noticing it when it happens, in my opinion, is the first step to making it less akratic. I’ve absolutely felt the difference, at various times in my life, between actually having the thing and trying to “do” it for all of Kaj’s examples (motivation, inspiration, empathy, and so on). The best solution I’ve personally found is, when possible, to simply wait for the real quality to return, and it always does. For example, when working on private writing projects, I write when a jolt of inspiration strikes, then wait for the next brilliant idea and not try to force it; if I do, I always produce inferior quality writing. When waiting isn’t practical, such as academic projects with a deadline, I don’t have such an easy path to always put in my best-quality work. This is one major reason why I think that being highly gifted doesn’t necessarily translate to exceptional academic performance; the education system isn’t really adapted to how at least some great minds operate.
I actually think that this depends on the nature of the absolutes. I think a lot of the fake qualities emerge because a part of one’s mind feels that e.g. not being productive would be shameful and infinitely bad, and then it’s so freaked out about the thought of not being productive that it tries to do everything it can to force the person into being productive. But since it’s a part that can’t actually generate genuine motivation, it may end up blocking the genuine motivation and thus prevent progress—exactly because it sees no-productivity as so infinitely bad that it can’t stand the thought of spending any time not being productive. And thus it’s incapable of doing the thing of “wait for the real quality to return” that you mention, because that would take time and meanwhile AAAAAAH I’M NOT BEING PRODUCTIVE.
(Productivity just being one specific example, a similar logic can be applied to the other examples too.)