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Maslows hierarchy of needs

Physiological Needs The body aims to achieve homeostasis (an equilibrium of different factors (water content of the blood, salt content, sugar content, protein content, fat content, calcium content, oxygen content, constant hydrogen-ion level /acid-base level, constant blood temperature). If all of a human's needs are unmet then the physiological need takes the highest priority. Given hunger for love and food, a human is more likely to find a solution for the latter first. As a result all other desires and capacities are pushed on to the back burner. This begs the question, if a community undergoing drought and starvation is less likely to devote resources towards say poetry and art appreciation. Logically this appears to be true. I know of no specific example. A history of Eithiopian art in the last century should be small if the predicate is true.

Safety Needs When the physiological needs are met then the human turns towards safety needs. Safety attains the highest priority over all other desires. A functioning society tends to provide this to its members. Examples in the recent past/present of where this has failed include Somalia and Afghanistan. In Kosovo, while food was available, the absence of security for the Kosovars resulted in a large population being displaced in search of security.

Love Needs If safety and physiological needs are met then the human being gravitates towards achieving fulfilment of love needs. A note worth making here is that sex is not equivalent to love. Love can and is often expressed sexually. Sexuality can at points be considered solely for its physiological basis. Could this explain the use of prostitutes among married men? The nature of 'swinger clubs' also magnifies the separation of sex and love.

Esteem Needs Every body needs to be felt like they are appreciated, wanted, make a difference etc. I've noticed people behave differently in different situations. On the one hand, say in a work situation they might appear meek and less assertive but in other situations for example with a spouse they appear belligerent and aggressive. Is this an effort to compensate for their lack of recognition in the work place? I've often heard people mention how it is that some one brings out certain qualities in them. How does that work? and how does it relate to esteem need?

Self actualization Self actualized is such a SNAG (Sensitive New Age Guy) term that it makes me want to puke. Maslow's argument is that even if all needs are met the intrinsic talent must be used in a manner that resonates with the person. A painter must paint. A singer must sing etc. I tend to believe that the self actualization is a ephemeral state where everything makes sense in ones life. The work, the focus, the effort are all working together. This would be akin to satori or kensho. I believe that this is state by its very nature is impossible to maintain. Man is in constant search of this state.

Other aspects of basic needs While these needs are represented in a rigid order Maslow says that there are other factors at play.

1. Some people have different importance accorded to different needs. For some people self actualization is more important than love. The tear jerker non-pareil Oprah Winfrey and the fantasy world of Nora Ephron's creation would for example place Love higher than other needs.

2. Once you've experienced a very low level of need you might lose the motivation to seek the right level. Someone who has been unemployed for a long time might no longer need a job which provides self-actualization to be happy.

3. The so called psychopathic personality is largely attributed to being starved of love in the early life. This makes these peoples lives devoid of love. Maslow points out that animals lose suckling/pecking reflexes if they're not exercized soon after birth.

4. When a need has been fully satisfied for a while, it loses its value. Maslow uses the example of a person who has never had to undergo chronic hunger and claims that food becomes a lower priority.

-- these notes were derived/paraphrased from A.H.Maslow's paper A Theory of Human Motivation published in 1943 published in the Psychological Review. I claim no originality in any of the text presented above..

Aside I heard/read some where that there is a certain equilibrium of happiness that a human is constantly in. Any displacement will eventually compensate itself and restore the equilibrium. So, give a man a million dollars and the happiness quotient increases (yada yada, money doesnt buy happiness but it buys things that give you happiness). Overtime even millionaires start feeling depressed. (yeah the first porsche will make you happy, but consequent acquisitions will not have the same effect). Similarly, the people of Afghanistan were given their fair share of trouble, but over time made do with it.