First things first

Just recently I came across ‘Maslow’s hierarchy of needs’ in humans, reading ‘the price of tomorrow’ by Jeff Booth.

In 1943, American psychologist Abraham Maslow (1908-1970) proposed a theory that all humans possess a hierarchy of needs from basic need to self-actualization: some needs were more important than others, and needs on one level must be satisfied before the next can be addressed. As an example, survival is a basic need and, as a result, is the first thing that motivates our behavior. If you are starving it’s difficult to think about other needs. […] “The findings suggests that Maslow’s theory is largely correct. In cultures all over the world the fulfillment of his proposed needs correlates with happiness”

First I was stroke by how universal and intuitive it is. Can you disagree with it?! I don’t think so. Maybe is also the reason why it is still in alignment with many of the SDG.

Like a nerd that I am, I went to read the original article. It is beautiful!

The integrated wholeness of the organism must be one of the foundation stones of motivation theory.

Human needs arrange themselves in hierarchies of pre- potency. That is to say, the appearance of one need usually rests on the prior satisfaction of another, more pre-potent need. Man is a perpetually wanting animal. Also no need or drive can be treated as if it were isolated or discrete; every drive is related to the state of satisfaction or dissatisfaction of other drives.

Although the pyramid depict of the hierarchy in the beginning of this post is easier to understand, I though this depict of the hierarchy as dynamic was more correct and beautiful.

I remembered the hierarchy talking with @anupassi (‘All Time High podcast’, episode 8) about how the Finnish are the happiest people in the world. On her account, the fact that they don’t have to worry about the most basic needs, physiological and safety, have a determinante role in this national happiness feeling.

And also when I talked to @shridharvenkat, the CEO of Akshaya Patra, about the end of hunger (episode 24).

Our program is an educational as much as a social one. It is easy to relate to hunger, because we all felt it at some point, even if just for a while, and we all know that is impossible to concentrate on a topic to be learned at school if you are hungry

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is a tool for empathy. Like Jeff Booth said:

It’s worth considering where others are on Maslow‘s framework as compared to where are you are. it is easy to apply your perspective on how other people ‘should’ act when they are on different level, instead of asking the question, ‘how would I act?’ If you or your family were dying of starvation, or being persecuted, what would you do differently from what you’re doing now?

This is exactly what me and @Sha3teely were discussing (episode 2) on the difficulty for people to agree on priorities if they are standing in different grounds.

However, the most striking thing about Maslow’s hierarchy is that, although there is plenty of technology and resources to make sure that every human being has this basic physiological need addressed, they are still not.

I can’t help thinking that the reason is also in the hierarchy, as among our basic instincts that must be satisfied, is greed.

PS: It may sound cocky, but it is a legitimate question for me, how, having gone through over 10 years of higher education, with a bachelor degree in biology and a PhD in biophysics, having read more science books than most my peers, I have never heard of Maslow’s hierarchy before 2021? Or did I and just didn’t retain the information? I guess I’ll never know.