174 ADAPTATION AND PROGRESS 
The inborn interests or needs as immediately related to organic 
activity seeking their satisfaction, are called motives (Triebe). 
All the modal forms of the inborn interest come to expression in the indi- 
vidual first as a result of the directing activity of the Urkraft working in the 
life. The force derived from interest in the sense of the life-plan expresses 
itself as motive (Trieb). Just as interest comes to view as feeling-tone 
connected with sensation, so in real life it expresses itself as motive, so that 
interest and life united stand over against the outer world. Motives enter 
into consciousness and grip the circuit of motor-nerve activities. The 
motives corresponding to the forms of development of the interest which 
work in us are the material, egoistic, intellectual and moral motives.t 
The relation of interest and motive is as follows: — 
The material motive [corresponding to the physiological interest] has as 
its function to maintain and develop the individual in the struggle for exist- 
ence until with death the nerves cease their activity. It works largely ina 
reflex, automatic manner. But with the development of consciousness it 
loses its fundamental character and, subordinated to reflection, draws on a 
larger circle of the world for the satisfaction of its strivings; now all the 
impulses co-operate to develop the individual and maintain the race. The 
material interest as thus developed we call the egoistic motive [corresponding 
to the individual interest] which of all the motives exercises the most definite 
influence on the social process. With the development of reason and the 
enlargement of experience, this motive is increased to embrace what is of use 
to every creature and to the social organization, and expanding by means of 
the blood-bond, comes to include the race. ... Upon this motive of self-inter- 
est rests to an essential degree the origin, maintenance and development of 
social individuals; it supports culture also in the direction useful to man. 
This motive, moreover, is the chief force in all political events. When the 
individual is able to identify self-interest with that of a social institution he 
works all the harder to advance the conditions favorable to it, but sometimes 
the welfare of the individual and society come into conflict, and while the 
conflict is often solved instinctively, sometimes it comes into consciousness 
in a way to stir up the intellect, and the intellectual motive which deals with 
ideas. These ideas are all related to organic needs so the intellectual motive 
is an outgrowth of the process of adaptation and arises because the organism 
cannot adapt itself to the given situation on a lower plane of activity. . .. 
These motives, as the interests, tend to function harmoniously in accord- 
ance with the principle of adaptation. When a person is lacking in the social 
interest every idea is bound up with self-interest. Many times, it is true, 
individual interest comes into the realm of intellectual struggle, but without 
being able to yield its egoistic bias. Intellectual motives remain pure only 
when they keep free from everything that has practical bearing on the social 
struggle. On this account the intellectual motive must be accompanied by 
the moral motive [corresponding to the social and transcendental interests] in 
order that it may guard the objectivity of social interests.” 
1 Erkenntnis, p. 254. 2 Thid., p. 255 f. 
