The "Why" in "why are you doing it" could be interpreted as "for what purpose," or "as a result of what causal chain." Neither of these, at first blush, appears all that fundamental or difficult--but perhaps there's another sense I'm missing.
The "Why" in "why are you doing it" could be interpreted as "for what purpose," or "as a result of what causal chain."
Certainly. What's important, however, is that the process of repeating the "why?" question forces you to to 1) think about what it is that you're doing, in detail, 2) understand what ends these actions serve, and 3) confront the beliefs that make these ends seem desirable in the first place. In effect, asking "what are you doing, and why are you doing it?" forces you to look at...
It has been claimed on this site that the fundamental question of rationality is "What do you believe, and why do you believe it?".
A good question it is, but I claim there is another of equal importance. I ask you, Less Wrong...
What are you doing?
And why are you doing it?