Conations

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The mental processes related to desire, volition, and striving to perform or achieve something; the component of motivation involving purposeful effort and determination; an aspect of psychology that studies intentional actions and goal-directed behavior
2. The cognitive functions that involve drive, willpower, and the inclination to act or accomplish objectives; the psychological domain encompassing intentionality and purposeful mental effort; a concept referring to the internal motivation propelling actions and decisions
3. The aspects of human thought concerned with intention, effortful striving, and volitional acts; the mental faculty that motivates purposeful action toward goals; a branch of cognitive science examining the willful components of mental activity

Etymology: "Conations" is the plural of "conation", a learned borrowing from Latin "cōnātiō", meaning "an act of attempting." The Latin noun comes from "cōnor", "to try" or "to attempt," so the English word carries the original sense of effort directed at an aim. The Latin verb itself is built on roots that trace back to Proto-Indo-European, but the English word entered through deliberate scholarly borrowing rather than everyday speech. The most useful way to understand the word is to see how the Latin idea of trying became a term for the mind's drive toward action. In modern psychology and philosophy, conation names the part of mental life that pushes us to act on wants and intentions, set against cognition (knowing) and affect (feeling). That three-way division is what gives the word its specialised weight: it isolates the will-like, striving side of thought from the others.

Synonyms: volitions, intentions, wills

Antonyms: apathies, indifferences