A modest proposalA modest proposal
People are blind to their own motivations if they don't work hard to discover them, and mostly even when they do.
The science behind this is overwhelming, perhaps illustrated best by split-brain patients confabulating their reasons for doing things [1]. (This video gives a more visceral demonstration, but only watch it if you're ready to be disturbed.)
Most people aren't brain damaged (insert joke here), but thinking of myself wrt podcasts, which I ostensibly listen to for information: digging into it and not allowing myself to lie, it's clear that most of my podcast-listening is motivated by self-soothing or other emotional regulation needs.
For instance, despite my periodic resolutions to the contrary, I listen to a stupid number of btc podcasts in order to be confirmed in the rightness of my own conclusions about btc; and to receive the Good News that btc will skyrocket in purchasing power. This makes me feel very smart, which I enjoy; and also gives me leave to imagine the cool things I'll be able to do when I'm rich, which I also enjoy [2].
At this point in my btc journey, it's quite rare for me to encounter a new idea or new way of thinking from one of these btc podcasts [3], which means that, according to my stated motivations, this is all wasted time. But of course my real motivations are not often my stated motivations. (The rest of my podcast diet appears more closely aligned to my stated motivations, but I'm probably lying to myself about these, too, although to a smaller degree.)
Anyway, this is a simple and harmless example, but the underlying point isn't harmless: it's hard to know why you're doing what you're doing, and you shouldn't have much faith in your default opinion on the matter.
NotesNotes
[1] Gazzaniga, M. S. (2000). Cerebral specialization and interhemispheric communication: does the corpus callosum enable the human condition?. Brain, 123(7), 1293-1326.
[2] This isn't to say that my conclusions about btc are delusional -- I've spent so many hours wrestling with it that I have faith in my opinions. But that doesn't change my bullshit motivations for listening to the podcasts.
[3] Here's a fun exception.
Wait, so what's the proposal?
Wouldn't that be a claim / hypothesis / assertion?
Those are comparable terms, yes.
well, in any case, proposal accepted!
This is, in fact, one of the trickiest things when dealing with peoples' personal issues. They often don't know their own motivations, and what they claim to be their motivations often aren't.
I ditched pretty much all of my libertarian podcasts recently, largely for this reason.
The day or two before I have a dental exam, I'm always in a bad mood. I try to interrogate myself to see if I'm feeling anxiety about the exam or the outcome, and usually, I don't feel anxious. Yet, like clockwork, I am in a much better mood the day after the exam (much closer to normal). The conclusion in draw from this is that I rarely actually know the source of my feelings.
It may be more than just pur motivations that are difficult to see with clarity. I strongly agree with your proposal.