Choosing What Kind of Person to Become | Rebecca Newberger Goldstein
Why It Matters
Understanding how the mattering instinct intersects with free‑will concepts offers a roadmap for personal identity formation and provides a psychological anchor for treating depression and preventing suicide.
Key Takeaways
- •Mattering instinct drives choices about the kind of person we become.
- •Free will can be framed libertarian or compatibilist within mattering.
- •Second‑order decisions shape dominant desires and personal identity.
- •William James linked belief in free will to recovery from depression.
- •Feeling of mattering is central to mental‑health interventions like suicide hotlines.
Summary
In a recent conversation, philosopher Rebecca Newberger Goldstein explores how the “mattering instinct” – a deep drive to feel significant – shapes the decisions that define the kind of person we become.
Goldstein argues that confronting this instinct requires a second‑order decision about which values—knowledge, power, wealth—will dominate one’s desires. She links this to the free‑will debate, showing that both libertarian (the ability to have done otherwise) and compatibilist (free will compatible with determinism) frameworks can accommodate the mattering project.
She illustrates the point with William James, who, amid severe depression, chose to “will” himself to believe in free will, catalyzing his recovery. Goldstein notes that the feeling of not mattering underlies many depressive episodes and is a target of suicide‑prevention resources such as the U.S. “You Matter” hotline.
The discussion suggests that personal agency at the level of “what kind of agent am I?” is both a philosophical and therapeutic lever. Recognizing the mattering instinct may help individuals craft purposeful identities and inform mental‑health interventions that reinforce a sense of significance.
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