Listing Human Needs

Renowned American psychologist Abraham Harold Maslow has formulated a theory known as Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. It addresses all the innate human needs. So it has been acclaimed by scholars and general people alike.

Maslow has touched upon almost all aspects of human life. He has categorised his findings into eight points. Biological and physiological needs are in the first category. He has incorporated air, food, drink, shelter, sleep and marital life into this group. This point is the most important because we may die in few minutes if we do not get air to breathe. We may not survive more than four days if we are deprived of drinking water.  

However, Dr. Govinda KC staged fast-onto-death several times. On one occasion, he staged hunger strike for twenty-six days. It was an exception. Most people may die of hunger within a week or so if they do not get food. Sleep, shelter and warmth are other important elements for survival. Safety needs are put in the second category. They include security, stability and freedom of expression and movement. Being true to oneself and others, intimacy with family members, friends and people in the society and workplace are in the third grouping. 

The fourth category is esteem need. It differentiates father from his son and daughter; it may invite tussle between a husband and wife. Maslow has categorised this point into two segments- inward-esteem and outward-esteem. The inward esteem resembles the teachings of sacred book Gita because a person introspects his/her duties and responsibilities in private, whereas in the outward-esteem, he/she judges others on the basis of gratitude offered to him/her.  

The fifth category is cognitive needs. It has to do with intellectual reasoning and performance. He claims that under this category, we human beings explore our discourses in the life and fulfil our curiosities. Though praise of beauty, look and slim body are more important in these days, Maslow has placed them in the sixth number. Self-actualisation needs are the life-blood of an introvert person, but these have been placed in the seventh number. The most vague term- transcendence needs -- have been placed at the end. He claims that on the basis of the transcendence needs, we are motivated on the proposals put forward by our family members, colleagues and other people. 

However, Maslow has hardly incorporated today’s need that is internet-driven social media - Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and so on. Internet is in the top priority of the new generation. This scribe wants to share his one experience in this regard. As the Nepal Telecom was replacing the ADSL system with fibre cable to install internet services in the Kapan area of Kathmandu, it suspended the internet for some days. Unknown about this situation, a guest of mine asked me to restore the internet soon. 

Similar story was shared by one of my friends recently. His daughter requested him from the college to fully charge the power bank as there was no guarantee of electricity. She said she had bought data package from the Nepal Telecom and wanted to make optimal use of the internet. As the internet has become an indispensible need for the modern-day people, it can be inserted as the eighth point in the Maslow’s theory of needs.