Motivation and Time: Motivational Congruence Theory's Stance

Time is an essential manifestation of human motivation. Its existence is fundamental for mental causation and free will. Despite time's unwavering importance, an unresolved debate exists regarding the actuality of time, known as the problem of time, in physics and philosophy. It asks whether time characteristics, including passage and duration are veridical. In physics, there are different perspectives regarding time. Classical approaches based on relativity theories and 4-dimensional block universe consider time to be illusory (i.e., based on an imaginaryconstruction of human mind). However, recent approaches, including the process theories (e.g., extended versions of relativity theory) assert that time is actual. Similarly, in philosophy, there are differing perspectives regarding time. Some philosophers believe that time as a passing phenomenon is unreal, whereas others argue that it is actual and exists as a reality of the world, separate from human imagination. Bergson and subsequent philosophers argue that time is actual and duration is a continual process through which one realizes his/her existence. In the motivation literature, duration is generally used as a measure of motivation. Cognitive evaluation and self-determination theories use duration in the form of free-choice behavior as a measure of intrinsic motivation (i.e., inherent interest). Motivational congruence theory (MCT) introduces overall motivation (i.e., the dialectical and dynamic interaction between intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, and context) and extends the concept of duration to assess it. The paper explains how MCT addresses the problem of time by solving mental causation and free will problems and illustrating duration as a reflection of overall motivation. This perspective on time matches advanced approaches in physics and philosophy.