Jump to content

Conation

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Whoisjohngalt (talk | contribs) at 20:22, 20 October 2023 (Cleaned up using AutoEd and copy edit.). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Not to be confused with Connation.
Look up conation in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

In the philosophy of mind,[1] and in psychology, conation refers to the ability to apply intellectual energy to a task to achieve its completion or reach a solution.[2] Conation may be distinguished from other mental phenomena, particularly cognition, and sensation,[1] and has been described as "neglected" in comparison with these phenomena. It may overlap to some extent with the concept of motivation, but "the ability to focus and maintain persistent effort" has been seen as more pertinent to conation.[2]

Definitions

Merriam-Webster's online dictionary defines conation as "an inclination (as an instinct or drive) to act purposefully".[3] The word comes from the Latin words conari (to try) and conatio (an attempt).[4] Hannah et al. define "moral conation" as "the capacity to generate responsibility and motivation to take moral action in the face of adversity and persevere through challenges".[5]

History

Edwin Boring included a review of the history of the concept in his History of Experimental Psychology, published in 1929, referring to James Ward's typology of cognition, conation, and feeling,[2] and to conation as George Stout's "famous doctrine". The division of the mind into cognition, conation (or desire), and feeling was also described by Immanuel Kant.[6] However, Norman Schur more recently included the word "conation" among his 1000 most challenging (or oft-forgotten or unknown) words in the English language.[7] For George Berkeley in his essay De Motu, it was a term to be avoided, because "we do not rightly understand" its meaning.[8]

Karen Gerdes argues that social work theorists have "not yet focused on conation as a useful concept" and that the concept is essential because it can "fill in some crucial gaps in social work theory and practice".[4] Drawing extensively on the work of sociologist Kathy Kolbe,[9][10] she encourages practitioners to adopt a conative approach to assessing and meeting social need in contexts such as education, social work, health care and team leadership.[4]

Research

Neuropsychology researchers Ralph M. Reitan and Deborah Wolfson looked at the performance of specific tasks which were "judged to require conative ability" in a research study published in 2000 and surmised that "conation, which has been a neglected dimension of behavior in neuropsychological assessment, may be the missing link between cognitive ability and prediction of performance capabilities in everyday life".[2]

See also

Further reading

References

  1. ^ a b Crawford, S. (2012), Minds and mental phenomena: an introduction, 3: Varieties of mental phenomena, accessed 19 May 2023
  2. ^ a b c d Reitan, R. M. and Wolfson, D., Conation: A Neglected Aspect of Neuropsychological Functioning, Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, Vol. 15, No. 5, 2000, pp. 443–453, accessed 19 May 2023
  3. ^ Merriam-Webster, conation, accessed 8 June 2023
  4. ^ a b c Gerdes, K., Conation: The Missing Link in the Strengths Perspective, pre-publication copy of an article that had been accepted by Social Work journal, 2006, accessed 19 May 2023
  5. ^ Hannan, S. T., Avolio, B. J. and May, D. R., Moral Maturation and Moral Conation: a Capacity Approach to Explaining Moral Thought and Action, The Academy of Management Review, Vol. 36, No. 4 (October 2011), pp. 663-685, accessed 24 May 2023
  6. ^ Katz, L. D., Pleasure in Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, revised 17 June 2016, accessed 23 May 2023
  7. ^ Schur, N. (1990), 1000 most challenging words, New York: Ballantine Books
  8. ^ Kilne, A. D., George Berkeley: Philosophy of Science, in the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, accessed 23 May 2023
  9. ^ Kolbe, K., The Conative Connection: uncovering the link between who you are and how you perform, Addison-Wesley, 1990, and other works referenced by Gerdes
  10. ^ Singer, P., An Unusual Tool in Hiring the Right Person, New York Times, published 27 September 1998, accessed 8 June 2023
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Conation&oldid=1181092878"