The Architecture of Desire

In the Architecture of Motivation, Leda Cosmides claims a strong theory from evolutionary psychology provides us with a balanced structure for predicting a response policy for individuals with sufficient understanding of the neural correlates of motivation. Emotional states play a large role in decision making. In fact, most humans most of the time require a sufficiently strong emotional response to take action. The cognitive chain of causation begins with giving a shit.

What emotional triggers give us the strongest motivation - what is the architecture of desire? Let's suppose that we can use the intentional stance to construct the ensemble of dispositions comprising desire(1):
1. Lust (luxuria)
2. Gluttony (gula)
3. Greed (avaricia)
4. Sloth (acedia/discouragement)
5. Wrath (ira)
6. Envy (invidia)
7. Pride (supervia/vainglory)

Entering a cognitive set evocative of these brain states and combinations of brain states, provides us with the answer to this question. What does desire want? To quench each fire in the belly.

Lust wants the love of others above the love for god according to Aristotle. Lust puts desire for other meat at the level of meat.

Gluttony wants over-consumption to the point of waste.

Greed wants an over abundance of wealth and status.

Sloth wants to avoid the pain of using our talents or capabilities by lack of discipline in our livelihood.

Wrath wants us to explode in anger and frustration - to give into fear and anxiety with bad temper.

Envy wants others to have less while I have more.Why am I motivated to acquire more than I am due? I am intently focused on my status which is measured by my Metcalfe

Pride wants me to be more important or attractive than others.

The entanglement of the ensemble of dispostions.
 Each dispositon or intuition has a place to motivate. Desire drives my over-use of right motivation.

The Emotional Response
Anxiety
Fear
anger
jealousy
Grief
Sorrow
Falling Love
Elation
Depression
Want to help
Want to hurt
love
guilt
gratitude
incest avoidance
disgust
status striving

"[These are outputs] from layers of neuro-computational procedures and representations—what we're going to call internal regulatory variables—devices that compute them, and decision rules that these variables feed"