animal spirits

English translation: emotional or non-reasoned motives for human behavior

16:18 Jul 15, 2009

English language (monolingual) [PRO]
Art/Literary - Social Science, Sociology, Ethics, etc.

English term or phrase: animal spirits

http://press.princeton.edu/titles/8967.html

ANIMAL SPIRITS
The colourful name that KEYNES gave to one of the essential ingredients of economic prosperity: confidence. According to Keynes, animal spirits are a particular sort of confidence, "naive optimism". He meant this in the sense that, for entrepreneurs in particular, "the thought of ultimate loss which often overtakes pioneers, as experience undoubtedly tells us and them, is put aside as a healthy man puts aside the expectation of death". Where these animal spirits come from is something of a mystery. Certainly, attempts by politicians and others to talk up confidence by making optimistic noises about economic prospects have rarely done much good.

Dear colleagues, could you please re-phrase it for me according to your personal understanding of the phrase and the connotations it brings forth?

TIA

danya KudoZ activity Questions: 98 (none open) (7 closed without grading) Answers: 1789
Local time: 10:54

Selected answer:emotional or non-reasoned motives for human behavior

Explanation:
Straight out of Wikipedia.
""Animal spirits" is the term John Maynard Keynes used in his 1936 book The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money to describe emotion or affect which influences human behavior and can be measured in terms of consumer confidence. Trust is also included or produced by "animal spirits". Several articles and at least two books with a focus on "animal spirits" have been published in 2008 and 2009 as a part of a so-called Keynesian resurgence."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_spirits_(Keynes)

In other words, the non-logical, non-reasoned basis for many economic decisions (with reason and logic being the pinnacle of "humanness" that stand in opposition to these "animal" qualities).

Selected response from:

Kathryn Litherland
United States
Local time: 03:54

Grading comment

thanks!

SUMMARY OF ALL EXPLANATIONS PROVIDED

5 +5

emotional or non-reasoned motives for human behavior

Kathryn Litherland

a will to live

Alexandra Taggart

Answers

15 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +5

emotional or non-reasoned motives for human behavior

Kathryn Litherland
United States
Local time: 03:54
Specializes in field
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 3

Grading comment

thanks!

2 hrs confidence:

a will to live

Explanation:
A spiritual drive.The basics of a spiritual part of everythig that is alive lies in their love to live.

Alexandra Taggart
Russian Federation
Local time: 10:54
Native speaker of:

English,

Russian

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