6. Human Motivation

From the discussion of the seven values we can make at least two very important conclusions. First, the four primary values motivate humans UNconsciously to make decisions that provide for the survival of the species. Second, the three secondary values urge humans to make conscious decisions to act on their urging. The secondary values act as modifiers or qualifiers to the primary values and subsequent decision-making.

Sole use of either the primary values or the secondary values seems to always lead to organizational dysfunction, and failure. Success of any organization of any size is better determined by the conscious use of the combined sets of values, which are best presented by a balanced number of men and women in organizational decision-making positions.

The effect of the seven innate values is to act as innate motivators for decision-making with subsequent behaviors that fulfill or satisfy the urge they develop, i.e., survival of our species, growth, development, and an evolving maturity of social existence. When we examine these seven values as primary and secondary values, we gain the insight that the four primary values are primarily responsible for the development of large organizations.

The three secondary values are responsible for urging us to consciously form, develop, and evolve intentionally functional societies. The three secondary values operate similarly as the primary values, which have urged us to form larger and larger organizations, from governments to transnational mega-corporations. The function of the three secondary values is to motivate all humanity to include empathy, compassion, and a generalized love for humanity in the decision-making practices in those organizations.

The social functions of three secondary values in organizations is to ameliorate the aggressive nature of organizations to survive, by making them more humane in their behavior toward their immediate audience, and to the larger public.

Stating that and then accepting that statement is probably a leap for many people, but it reflects the conscious and intentional decision-making that we use to form organizations for specific purposes. The difference is that the three secondary values urge us to develop social institutions, as the family, education, healthcare, justice, and the democratic process, for example, that sustain the good working order (functionality) of our families, communities, and societies. The primary values provide a society to make a living; and, the secondary values ensure those societies and communities livable.

Understanding Human Motivation

Understanding human motivation is essential to understand the reasons people make the decisions they do, and have made in the past. If we thoroughly understand the fundamentals of the motivating energies of the seven values, then an understanding of human motivation can make social, economic, political, and even military planning far more effective. As national, state, and other planners become more aware of human motivation in the dimensions of the seven values, they can begin the developmental and evolutionary stages and steps necessary for a democratic society to transcend its beginnings, and the current failings of our contemporary social institutions, and all organizations.

A Unified Theory of Human Motivation. The synergism of the primary and secondary value systems gives us a complete picture of human motivation and an accurate reflection of us as individuals — thinking and compassionate, analytical and creative. The four primary values and the three secondary value-emotions bring us full circle to provide the basis for a unified theory of human motivation by engaging the analytical-side of individual and group activities with the creative, intuitive, and heart-connected side of our human existence.

We are motivated by our intellectual side to devise ways to improve our quality of life, whether that means discovering fire to heat our cave and cook our food to inventing the latest smart phone. We are also highly motivated by our creative, artful side of our being from what most people feel in their “heart.” The secondary value-emotions give each of us the capability to improve the quality of our lives through our empathy, compassion, and love for humanity, both as givers to others and as receivers from others.

Further, these values give us the motivation to improve the quality of our lives through our intra-personal relationship with our self; and our inter-personal relationship with others. This is the point where the unification of these two value systems becomes vastly important to motivate each of us to explore our innate potential to create a balanced holism in our life, to confidently unlock our potential, and aid others to unlock their own. The three secondary values connect us to others through our empathy to act in compassion to aid those in distress. The conscious use of the combination of these seven values reflect that we are being fully human. Peace will never become possible until we become fully human in our intra- and inter-personal relationships.

These seven values have provided the motivating impetus to sustain of our species for approximately 8,000 generations and characterize our species as being human, humane. In other terms, the four primary values give us an integrated system of moral justice; and the three secondary values give us an integrated system of humane justice. The three secondary value-emotions give us the criteria to live our lives humanely in grace, to protect and nurture our self while we protect and nurture others.

The Raphael Unified Theory of Human Motivation. Together, these seven values provide us with a unified, values-based theory of human motivation. Eponymously, it becomes the Raphael Unified Theory of Human Motivation.3


3   Raphael, Daniel (2014-2018) Understanding Social Sustainability.
Available from the author’s Google website.