Origins and Representatives of Motivation Theory

In ancient China, there was an early debate about the relationship between motivation and effect.

Mengzi, the main representative of pre-Qin Confucianism, was the earliest representative of the theory of motivation. He put motive and effect, righteousness and profit, in absolute opposition to each other, emphasizing only the motive of "benevolence and righteousness" and denying the significance of the effect of benefit in evaluating behavior.

Dong Zhongshu of the Han Dynasty inherited Mengzi's ideas, and in his Spring and Autumn Annals he clearly put forward the idea of "correcting the way of the world without seeking its benefits, and cultivating its reasoning without rushing its achievements," arguing that the goodness or badness of a person's behavior mainly depends on whether or not he is motivated by the "way of the world", The idea that the goodness of a person's behavior depends mainly on whether he is motivated by the goodness of the "way" and "reason" rather than by utilitarian effects.

The Song Dynasty rationalist Zhu Xi hailed Dong Zhongshu's idea of "justice without profit, and the clear way without merit" as a "great law". This tradition of motivation theory has had a profound impact on the development of Chinese ethical thought.