Philosophy: Maslow's hierarchy of needs

"The basis of Maslow's motivation theory is that human beings are motivated by unsatisfied needs, and that certain lower factors need to be satisfied before higher needs can be satisfied. According to Maslow, there are general types of needs (physiological, survival, safety, love, and esteem) that must be satisfied before a person can act unselfishly. He called these needs "deficiency needs." As long as we are motivated to satisfy these cravings, we are moving towards growth, toward self-actualization. Satisfying needs is healthy, while preventing gratification makes us sick or act evilly."

Entire article HERE.

Ahh, a long forgotten tidbit of my college experience; Maslow's hierarchy of needs. I studied Social Service Work in college some years ago, and after many years in the field, have moved on to a different type of job. Irrelevant for this topic, but I feel it lends some credibility to what I'm typing here - knowing that I'm not just copying and pasting the ENTIRE thing. Of course, this is the internet... believe what you want.

I was thinking today about Maslow's hierarchy of needs in the context of 'survival'. Now, even applying it to such a broad term is the equivalent of applying the Art of War to 'business'. However, it really does break down what we need on our most basic levels, from the ground up.

I would be careful not to model your lifestyle off of this chart, however. It serves as a good understanding of how we automatically operate but also insinuates the fact that we have 'constant' physiological needs. On this premise alone, if we were to prepare for the things we 'need' to survive, we could possibly never rise higher than the lowest plank on the pyramid.

A good start though - and a couple points to ponder. What could you go without?