Human Action: Understanding Its Nature and Motivations
The Human Action
Being alive is being in action. To live and act is inherent in each individual. We are all different because we each have a peculiar way of acting that expresses our individuality.
Approaching the Notion of Action
Action refers to the operations of a voluntary and conscious agent. An agent is a person, animal, or thing that performs an action. Only a volunteer is aware of being an agent. Action is a unique type of event, specifically human. We must be aware that not everything a person does constitutes an action. Actions reflect the way we propose to control them, unlike things we do not believe are actions.
Specificity of Human Action
There are some activities that people do not perform, but it is difficult to exclude them as actions.
- Animal Behavior: When animals act, they are not spontaneous and free. Their actions are limited to executing a genetic program. Although many animals are capable of learning spontaneous behavior from others, many of their actions are automatic.
- Computer Behavior: Computer behavior is defined by a computer program that determines its responses. Computers are capable of performing very complex operations. However, their actions are automatic by default and are not the result of free thinking and choosing.
- Human Behavior: Human behavior is spontaneous and not a repetition of an inherited pattern. Specific human behavior involves a choice between doing this, that, or not doing anything at all. Only a human being who chooses and decides what to do can be considered a voluntary agent.
Individual Action and Collective Action
Many believe that some actions are not caused by a single person but by a group.
- Individual Action: An activity produced by a conscious agent voluntarily (e.g., playing the piano).
- Collective Action: An activity carried out by several individuals who cooperate and pursue the same goal. It cannot be said that the group is conscious or voluntary, but the individual agents are (e.g., moving a piano from one room to another).
There is a type of action that is essentially collective, such that a single individual cannot perform it. This requires collective conduct.
- Social Action: An activity produced by a person or a group of people that can only be carried out and understood within a social setting. Social actions are conceivable only within a collectivity or society that gives meaning to these actions through conventions, traditions, and customs.
Motivated Action
- Reason as the Cause: This refers to all the factors and considerations that move us to do something or not do it. These are the reasons or causes of our actions.
- Reason and Purpose: This refers to what we aim to achieve with our actions. Everything we intend to achieve or produce is the reason or purpose of our actions.
Sometimes, it is difficult to distinguish between what motivates us to act and what we want to achieve by acting. Some authors believe the difference lies only in the context in which we analyze the action and, therefore, prefer not to make this distinction.
Reasons can be divided into:
- Internal: Acts or mental states that determine whether or not we do something.
- External: Subjective factors that influence us to do something or not, but do not determine it.
Intentional Action
Action is intentional or tends to refer to something beyond our reach but that we intend to achieve. The intentional character is closely linked to consciousness and volition, which are necessary for an event to be considered an action. We only consider actions that respond to a purpose. The purpose for which our actions tend to speak and the causes of action as an intentional act is something that is yet to act on; this is something that is beyond.
Intentions are only present as ideas or mental contents. They are translated into action only if the action comes to fruition. When this happens, we say the action was a success; we have achieved what we intended. A result of the action is the transformation of intention into reality.
The action can also be a failure when the intention remains just an intention and does not become a fact. There is also the possibility of unexpected effects. These are unforeseen consequences of action that cannot be considered actions because they are not intentional. They are simply things that happen.
Understanding and Explanation of the Action
Action is not just a series of body movements. When it comes to action, it is a response to intentions and motives. To understand an action means knowing the reasons and intentions and not only describing the body movements that compose it.
Sometimes, it is difficult to determine the motives and intentions that define an action. Some authors believe that many cases are not actions. However, not knowing the motives and intentions does not mean they do not exist. In cases where they truly do not exist, we stop talking about action. Action is always motivated and intentional.