In the philosophy of mind,Crawford, S. (2012)
Minds and mental phenomena: an introduction
3: Varieties of mental phenomena, accessed 19 May 2023 and in psychology, conation refers to the ability to apply intellectual energy to a task to achieve its completion or reach a solution.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 Conation may be distinguished from other mental phenomena, particularly

cognition Cognition refers to "the mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses". It encompasses all aspects of intellectual functions and processes such as: perception, attention, thought, ...

, and sensation, and has been described as "neglected" in comparison with these phenomena. It may overlap to some extent with the concept of

motivation Motivation is the reason for which humans and other animals initiate, continue, or terminate a behavior at a given time. Motivational states are commonly understood as forces acting within the agent that create a disposition to engage in goal-dire ...

, but "the ability to focus and maintain persistent effort" has been seen as more pertinent to conation.

Definitions

Merriam-Webster Merriam-Webster, Inc. is an American company that publishes reference books and is especially known for its dictionaries. It is the oldest dictionary publisher in the United States. In 1831, George and Charles Merriam founded the company as ...

's online dictionary defines conation as "an inclination (as an instinct or drive) to act purposefully". The word comes from the Latin words ''conari'' (to try) and ''conatio'' (an attempt). 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".

History

Edwin Boring Edwin Garrigues (Garry) Boring (23 October 1886 – 1 July 1968) was an American experimental psychologist, Professor of Psychology at Clark University and at Harvard University, who later became one of the first historians of psychology. A ''Rev ...

included a review of the history of the concept in his ''History of Experimental Psychology'', published in 1929, referring to

James Ward James Ward may refer to: Military *James Ward (Medal of Honor, 1864) (1833–?), American Civil War sailor * James Ward (Medal of Honor, 1890) (1854–1901), American Indian Wars soldier *James Allen Ward (1919–1941), New Zealand pilot and Vi ...

's typology of cognition, conation, and feeling, 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. However, Norman Schur more recently included the word "conation" among his ''1000 most challenging'' (or oft-forgotten or unknown) words in the English language. For

George Berkeley George Berkeley (; 12 March 168514 January 1753) – known as Bishop Berkeley (Bishop of Cloyne of the Anglican Church of Ireland) – was an Anglo-Irish philosopher whose primary achievement was the advancement of a theory he called "immate ...

in his essay '' De Motu'', it was a term to be avoided, because "we do not rightly understand" its meaning.Kilne, A. D.
George Berkeley: Philosophy of Science
in the ''

Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy The ''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' (''IEP'') is a scholarly online encyclopedia, dealing with philosophy, philosophical topics, and philosophers. The IEP combines open access publication with peer reviewed publication of original pape ...

'', accessed 23 May 2023

Research

Neuropsychology Neuropsychology is a branch of psychology concerned with how a person's cognition and behavior are related to the brain and the rest of the nervous system. Professionals in this branch of psychology often focus on how injuries or illnesses of t ...

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".

References

{{reflist Concepts in the philosophy of mind Psychological concepts

Definitions

History

Research

See also

Further reading

References