Re: What type of motion would a man experience in a moving lift?

Yes, and many more motions too … including "at rest".

Motion, although not always stated as such, is ALWAYS relative to an observer. In your case, an observer standing in the corner of the moving lift would say "circular". An observer waiting for the next lift, (assuming x-ray vision) would see an upward spiral motion. Also an insect on the man's shoulder might assume no motion at all.

Asking someone in a descending car, you might appear to be heading upward at an even faster speed. To a person running down the hall, the spiral would be tilted. For a faster lift, he might look to be moving downward. Again, all motion is relative to the observer.

Now, it's true that we have come to some agreements in our society. We tend to consider the earth to be at rest. [Of course, astronomers smile at this attitude.] So we often use our mental powers to fix in our minds what we see. Optical illusions are just confused inputs that we have not come to grips with.