Hierarchy of Needs

Self-actualization in a time of war.

Some psychologists didn’t like the idea that everything we do is determined by the unconscious. Neither did they like the idea of behaviorism’s simplifications. Instead, people like Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers began to form their own ideas about personal control, intentionality, and a human predisposition for “good” as important for our self-concept and our behavior.

Maslow first coined his now well-known concept of a hierarchy of needs in the form of a pyramid in 1943.

At the bottom of the pyramid, we find the most basic of human needs, which are basic physical needs, like breathing, drinking, eating, sleeping, sex, etc.

We go up one level to safety, which also includes, for instance, morality and health. In the middle, we find love and belonging, like family, friendship, and intimacy.

At the fourth level, the so-called cognitive level, we see esteem, like self-esteem, achievement, and confidence, but also respect from others.

At the top, the aesthetic level, we find what Maslow called self-actualization, which evolves around creativity, problem-solving, lack of prejudice, but also, acceptance of facts.

Even though the pyramid suggests that one can only fulfill their needs one level at a time…