Behavior: Why do I do the things I do?

I think it is time I put myself on the proverbial "hot seat" and ask myself the tough question- "Why do I do the things I do?" Of course, this question is tough to answer, not least because a "Why" question often leads to multiple interpretations of the questions itself. For example, "Why does the sun rise in the east?" can be a scientific question meaning "What makes it appear that the sun moves upwards from the eastern horizon when it first appears at the beginning of a day?" but it can also be a linguistic statement that means "That is just the way things are." or a theological statement meaning "The invisible hand of an omnipotent deity moves the universe in various ways."

And, since I am not going into a deep discourse on theology (which invariably finds its way into many of the things I write), astronomy, semantics and am trying to adress my personal behavioral traits and actions, I should rephrase my tough question to "What are the factors that directly influence my actions in an observable way on a regular basis?", something that has more well defined limits.

It would be reasonable to assume that human actions are the external representations of human thought, especially when there is a logical choice between two or more somewhat acceptable possible actions. So, the factors that effect my choice, compared to another person's, are:

A. My range of acceptable behavior

B. My active choice and the mechanism by which I make it

Now, the range of acceptable behavior is something that varies between people and cultures. In fact, it also varies between two different circumstances for the same person. I may consider physical violence to be unacceptable in most situations, but if there is a reasonable threat of violence against myself, I might find it acceptable to be the first to the punch. Now, whether I fling my fist or not (and whether it is a hook or an uppercut) is a matter of choice.

That example might have seemingly blurred the line between acceptability and choice. Isn't what is acceptable to me simply a choice that I myself make? Perhaps. [It might be useful for me to acknowledge that I took a coffee break to ponder this point.] The thing is, while choice is the instantaneous and somewhat more conscious decision, acceptability is something whose lines have been created and molded over the years as a result of knowledge (individual and socio-cultural), experience and previous choices (especially when the latter have retrospectively been proved to be stupid decisions).

Now, as I realize that going deeper into the topic of acceptability will be a more profound discourse than I am prepared for at the moment, I have to tackle the question of personal choice. Why are my choices, given the same situation and a similar range of acceptable behavior, often different from another individual's? What makes my preferences different from yours?

Neurologically, it might be because we have different synapses in our central nervous system. Psychologically it might be because of differences in our personalities. Behaviorally, it might be because of our past experiences when given similar choices and how they turned out. Economically, it might be because we have different incentives that drive us. Theologically, it might be because one of us (probably me) is a sinner while the other is a saint. Logically, it might be because we are processing the same situation in completely different ways. Statistically, it might be because one of us (again, probably me) is an outlier, while the other is more towards the central tendency. [I wanted to put in a postmodern physics theory that says both of us make all possible choices in multiple different realities, but I resisted that urge, although I still mention it in these brackets.]

I accept that I have not really pin-pointed any specific factors in these few paragraphs. I've merely stated that acceptability and choice affect my behavior(and probably yours as well, although I wouldn't bet on it) and these are again influenced by further factors. But the purpose of writing this was not to reach an instantaneous conclusion, rather to break down a tough question into simpler parts. Perhaps I might think (and write) more on this topic on a further date. Until then, this write-up is just a reminder that the question is still alive.