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Prep22, Section2, #10.
I chose B as the answer, but I would like some help as to how "the only" and "chief" differ.
IF self interest is the only motive, then isn't it also the only and the main/primary/chief influence on human action?

Could someone give me examples of other things influencing human action?
Perhaps things other than the motives or minds can influence human action? outside influences?

I at first thought that the stimulus turned a conditional reasoning into a causal reasoning.
Can someone help me understand this more clearly?

Thanks.

soyeonjeon wrote:Prep22, Section2, #10.
I chose B as the answer, but I would like some help as to how "the only" and "chief" differ.
IF self interest is the only motive, then isn't it also the only and the main/primary/chief influence on human action?
Thanks.

In short, no. The stimulus here tells me that self-interest is the only motive that factors into every decision I make. However, that doesn't mean it's the strongest influence. There could be another motive that only comes up in 1/3 decisions I make, but it completely determines what I do in those cases, and self-interest only plays a minor role.

To put it in a crazy example, say I have an overbearing mother. She calls me up every 5 minutes, asks me what I'm about to do, and weighs in on what I should do. In other words, she's an influence on all of my decisions. But I just brush her off because I resent the overbearing nature of her influence over me (not in reality - my mother's a wonderful woman). I don't automatically do the opposite of what she says (because then she would be determining my actions) - I just don't pay it much mind. "Ok, Mom. I'm going now..." I say, before hanging up. She's clearly an influence on all of my decisions because she gives me input into them. However, she's definitely not the chief influence on what I decide to do.

In short, just because something always influences you doesn't mean that it's a particularly strong influence. Just that it's always there.