Maslow's Hierarchy
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs - a pyramid of needs that supposedly brings a human being to completion. There are lots of ways Maslow’s diagram can and has been used, I am mainly going to focus upon the use and impact it has upon humanism as both a catalyst and a proof.
There are five stages in this pyramid and movement upward cannot occur unless the lower stages are mastered fully. Though there is a level of logic to this pyramid - it is important to know who you are (self-actualization) and to know yourself you must be able to stand up for yourself (self-esteem), boldness comes when you know you are loved (belonging) and your place in society is not thought of when you do not feel secure (safety) and that does not enter our minds until we know we have gained enough sustenance to live (physical needs) - to extrapolate this into a universal psychological model of what man ultimately needs is a bit much.
For one, to say this model is a end-all solution is to assume that man is perfectible - that by self-actualizing, man can attain greatness, happiness, and all he will ever need - simply by knowing himself. The last great problem man has to overcome (according to this diagram) is himself. It eternalizes everything - it says that to know yourself is to become perfect (that is the word of the humanist), not even stopping to postulate that...perhaps...who you are needs to change.
This is where you scream, “You can’t change Me!” and you are right,I can’t. But it is possible for you to change. Think about this, if a man is a true psycho-path, it would not be good to encourage him to be himself. “This is who I am.” many would say, “I cannot change who I am.” Then let me tell you, I used to be tremendously introverted... Man changes dramatically throughout his life. This is incontrovertible.
Then you have self-esteem - the second to the last hurdle in life. As I am in agreement that one needs confidence in oneself, I am in stark disagreement that self-esteem is something to be sought after as it turns irreconcilably towards pride. Pride is not a strength, but a great weakness of character (but that is for another time.)
The end point of this discussion, no matter who you are, should be - will true knowledge of myself truly bring perfect contentment and completion? Or am I mutable? What do I truly need? Acknowledgement that my sinful desires come from my sinful nature that is me? Or that I need to change and control my sinful desires to become better than who I am. At this point I should get off my pedestal and give you reign to ask yourself - where do I fit into this?
Jared Williams
There are five stages in this pyramid and movement upward cannot occur unless the lower stages are mastered fully. Though there is a level of logic to this pyramid - it is important to know who you are (self-actualization) and to know yourself you must be able to stand up for yourself (self-esteem), boldness comes when you know you are loved (belonging) and your place in society is not thought of when you do not feel secure (safety) and that does not enter our minds until we know we have gained enough sustenance to live (physical needs) - to extrapolate this into a universal psychological model of what man ultimately needs is a bit much.
For one, to say this model is a end-all solution is to assume that man is perfectible - that by self-actualizing, man can attain greatness, happiness, and all he will ever need - simply by knowing himself. The last great problem man has to overcome (according to this diagram) is himself. It eternalizes everything - it says that to know yourself is to become perfect (that is the word of the humanist), not even stopping to postulate that...perhaps...who you are needs to change.
This is where you scream, “You can’t change Me!” and you are right,I can’t. But it is possible for you to change. Think about this, if a man is a true psycho-path, it would not be good to encourage him to be himself. “This is who I am.” many would say, “I cannot change who I am.” Then let me tell you, I used to be tremendously introverted... Man changes dramatically throughout his life. This is incontrovertible.
Then you have self-esteem - the second to the last hurdle in life. As I am in agreement that one needs confidence in oneself, I am in stark disagreement that self-esteem is something to be sought after as it turns irreconcilably towards pride. Pride is not a strength, but a great weakness of character (but that is for another time.)
The end point of this discussion, no matter who you are, should be - will true knowledge of myself truly bring perfect contentment and completion? Or am I mutable? What do I truly need? Acknowledgement that my sinful desires come from my sinful nature that is me? Or that I need to change and control my sinful desires to become better than who I am. At this point I should get off my pedestal and give you reign to ask yourself - where do I fit into this?
Jared Williams
