Can we really go beyond self?

By

FOR

many decades, those engaged in business and economics have endured a barrage of messages to the effect that the only thing that really mattered was to think of one’s bottom line. Profit has to be maximized at all cost; anything else would be a distraction and would simply take the focus from the one thing that was necessary, which was to make as much money as possible, no matter who gets hurt.

That has always sounded not just a bit too selfish. It forgot that men and women are called to rise and go beyond self so as to make dreams, which are good for others, particularly those they love, come true. Presumably, among those others whom we love are our fellow citizens, other Filipinos, and indeed our country as a whole.

Dr. Tiongco has more to say on rising above self, as follows:

“Why would people engage in prosocial behavior? Why would someone do something that benefits somebody else without profiting from what he does for the other person or even at great cost to him? This phenomenon has long challenged social scientists and many reasons have been proposed to explain it.”

“Indeed, there may be in each of us a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, making us all capable of being kind and generous in some situations but selfish and calculating in other cases. Still, it takes education or training to foster prosocial behavior — something best done early on in life when it is relatively easier to encourage children to be considerate, kind, and helpful toward others and learn to care and share.

“We have already discussed moral imagination in a previous section. But in relation to education in “other-ness,” it is worth reiterating that the development of moral imagination includes nurturing empathy and the ability to put oneself in the shoes of others and to envision the potential help or harm that one’s decisions, choices, and actions can mean for others.

“Then there is transcendent motivation — a kind of motivation that is often excluded in the traditional dualistic distinction between extrinsic and intrinsic motivation.”

“Extrinsic motivation refers to the willingness to act or behave in a certain way in order to either obtain the external rewards attached to that kind of action or behavior or avoid the external sanction or penalty attached to not acting or behaving that way. For this reason, it is called ‘carrot-and-stick’ motivation.

“Intrinsic motivation involves the willingness to act or behave in a certain way because of the inner satisfaction, self-approval, or enhanced self-esteem that one gains from such action or behavior. The following are considered intrinsic motivators: The desire for excellence or high achievement, the desire for self-development and selfimprovement, and a strong sense of duty and responsibility.”

There is more, beyond extrinsic and intrinsic motivation.