This is the essence of the Theory of Embedded Conflict (TEC):
Conflict is not an accident. It is a biological design principle, a motivational engine, and a spiritual filter. From hormonal circuits to civilizational structures, our behavior is not driven by a desire for stability, but by the friction between opposing imperatives — a structural tension designed to force emergence, adaptation, and transcendence.
TEC claims that the human condition is the result of a tripartite motivational program, hard-coded into our physiology and psychology:
Dopaminergic vector — pursuit, ambition, expansion
Serotonergic vector — conformity, stability, social status
Cortisol-based inhibitory vector — fear, inhibition, self-preservation
The tension between these three programs creates the very conditions for choice, freedom, and personal evolution. We are not rational agents. We are conflicted agents — and conflict is what grants us depth, freedom, and moral architecture.