Will and Variation

The standard model of behavior--that one sets oneself in motion as a means to achieving some pre-posited end--is plainly not a misrepresentation of an experiential sequence. Its shortcoming is, rather, in the thesis that it constitutes a fundamental principle of behavior, a thesis which glosses over its derivative character. The essential pattern emerges when one is restless, i. e. when one moves simply for the sake of moving. Furthermore, moving simply for the sake of moving entails an awareness of the given situation, e. g. the awareness that 'nothing is happening', so, that motion is, more precisely, an introduction of variation into the given circumstances, a pattern which also is at the heart of the standard model, which also is activated by an awareness of circumstances as they are. In other words, purposive action is a species of variation in behavior, i. e. of Will, the Material Cause of Experience, as previously defined here, with the pursuit of an end extrinsic to the essential pattern.