R. Ḥasdai Crescas and the Concept of Motivation in Modern Psychology and the Philosophy of Education
Abstract
The concept of educational motivation refers to the desire to invest time and effort in a particular activity, even when this is difficult, exacts a high price, and may be unsuccessful. Recent decades have seen a growing recognition of the central role of motivation processes in students’ success in their studies and other processes of adaptation. Modern motivation theories attempt to study and explain the psychological processes that motivate human beings—processes associated with arousal, self-intention, and the like. According to these studies, motivation is both a cognitive and an emotional process, because thinking and emotion determine our individual path and desire and mobilize the forces required to turn desire into action. The article looks at the concept of motivation in the philosophy of Hasdai Crescas. It is shown to stand at the center of several of his most important theories, such as love in general and love of God in particular, joy, the purpose of the Torah and precepts, prayer, and even determinism. It is argued that his ideas anticipated various modern theories of motivation that are found in research on the philosophy and psychology of education.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21220/w7yg-az55
Recommended Citation
Eisenmann, Esti. "R. Ḥasdai Crescas and the Concept of Motivation in Modern Psychology and the Philosophy of Education." Journal of Textual Reasoning 13, no. 1 (2022): 156-187. https://doi.org/10.21220/w7yg-az55.
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