Facts and Arguments about the Introduction of Initiative and ...
Facts and Arguments about the Introduction of Initiative and ...
Facts and Arguments about the Introduction of Initiative and ...
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
People need food, but also <strong>the</strong> longer-term assurance <strong>of</strong> a<br />
food supply (safety needs). People also have a need for direct<br />
<strong>and</strong> immediate affection (belongingness <strong>and</strong> love) <strong>and</strong> for a<br />
wider social belongingness that assures <strong>the</strong>m <strong>of</strong> being able<br />
to maintain relationships with o<strong>the</strong>rs into <strong>the</strong> future as well.<br />
The need to know <strong>and</strong> to underst<strong>and</strong><br />
Maslow states, “The desire to know <strong>and</strong> to underst<strong>and</strong> (...) are<br />
as much personality needs as <strong>the</strong> ‘basic needs’ we have already<br />
discussed.” (Maslow, 1943a, p. 385) One <strong>of</strong>ten sees that <strong>the</strong><br />
attempts to satisfy this need are pursued despite enormous<br />
costs <strong>and</strong> risks. However, Maslow remains unclear <strong>about</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />
exact place this need occupies relative to <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r needs. He<br />
frequently omits <strong>the</strong> need for knowledge <strong>and</strong> underst<strong>and</strong>ing<br />
when summarising <strong>the</strong> hierarchy <strong>of</strong> needs. In his 1943 article,<br />
he discusses <strong>the</strong> need for knowledge <strong>and</strong> underst<strong>and</strong>ing<br />
extensively <strong>and</strong> stresses that it is a basic need. However, he<br />
remains uncertain <strong>about</strong> <strong>the</strong> position this need occupies in <strong>the</strong><br />
hierarchy <strong>of</strong> needs. In my opinion, <strong>the</strong> ‘need to underst<strong>and</strong>’<br />
must be seen logically as a fifth basic need. The need to know<br />
<strong>and</strong> to underst<strong>and</strong> will only emerge with full force when <strong>the</strong><br />
needs for affection <strong>and</strong> social connectedness are at least partially<br />
satisfied. Any knowledge will be perceived as hollow<br />
<strong>and</strong> irrelevant if it is not acquired against <strong>the</strong> background <strong>of</strong><br />
a worthwhile emotional <strong>and</strong> social life. But <strong>the</strong> need to know<br />
<strong>and</strong> underst<strong>and</strong> must still be considered as a basic need, in <strong>the</strong><br />
sense that people must turn to <strong>the</strong> outside world to satisfy this<br />
need (whereas <strong>the</strong> need for self-fulfilment is satisfied by inner<br />
activity – see below). One could also say that a certain degree<br />
<strong>of</strong> knowledge <strong>and</strong> underst<strong>and</strong>ing must be acquired before selfactualization<br />
can take place. To that extent, <strong>the</strong>refore, <strong>the</strong> need<br />
for knowledge <strong>and</strong> underst<strong>and</strong>ing st<strong>and</strong>s at a more fundamental<br />
level in <strong>the</strong> hierarchy than <strong>the</strong> need for self-actualization.<br />
The meta-need: <strong>the</strong> need for self-actualization<br />
One <strong>of</strong> Maslow’s central propositions states: every talent is<br />
also a need, <strong>and</strong> it is actually a need for fulfilment <strong>of</strong> that talent.<br />
A person who develops normally does not stop at <strong>the</strong> higher<br />
basic needs, such as <strong>the</strong> need for social recognition <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />
acquisition <strong>of</strong> knowledge. When <strong>the</strong>se needs have been adequately<br />
satisfied, a new need immediately appears: <strong>the</strong> desire<br />
to validate ones own aptitudes <strong>and</strong> talents. This new need is<br />
fundamentally different from <strong>the</strong> previous five, in <strong>the</strong> sense<br />
that it cannot be satisfied from <strong>the</strong> outside world, but only by<br />
<strong>the</strong> person’s own inner initiative. That is why Maslow talks <strong>of</strong><br />
a ‘meta-need’ in this context.<br />
The dividing line between this meta-need <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> basic needs,<br />
which have to be satisfied by elements from <strong>the</strong> outside world,<br />
coincides with <strong>the</strong> dividing line between intrinsic <strong>and</strong> external<br />
motivation [see 3-1 <strong>and</strong> 3-2]. At <strong>the</strong> moment that <strong>the</strong> meta-need<br />
becomes <strong>the</strong> main motivating force, people manifest <strong>the</strong>mselves<br />
as involved beings. The relationship to <strong>the</strong> outside world<br />
is, as it were, turned inside out. As long as <strong>the</strong> basic needs operate<br />
as motivators, <strong>the</strong> outside world exists as a means <strong>of</strong> satisfying<br />
those needs. When <strong>the</strong> meta-need becomes <strong>the</strong> main motivating<br />
force, people <strong>the</strong>mselves become a means <strong>of</strong> meeting<br />
<strong>the</strong> needs <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> outside world. Whereas <strong>the</strong> basic needs arise<br />
from what <strong>the</strong> ‘I’ has (a body <strong>and</strong> emotions), <strong>the</strong> meta-need<br />
arises from <strong>the</strong> connectedness that manifests itself in <strong>the</strong> ‘I’.<br />
The need for self-actualization, <strong>the</strong>refore, must not be seen<br />
as hedonistic. It is not <strong>about</strong> ego-tripping, but ra<strong>the</strong>r <strong>about</strong><br />
a need for meaning, which can only be found in <strong>the</strong> service<br />
0<br />
<strong>of</strong> ‘<strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r’. The meta-need is a need for meaningfulness.<br />
The question <strong>of</strong> whe<strong>the</strong>r existence has meaning cannot be<br />
answered with ei<strong>the</strong>r a ‘yes’ or a ‘no’ at a purely rational-intellectual<br />
level. Meaningfulness arises in <strong>the</strong> existential service<br />
<strong>of</strong> ‘<strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r’, where that service is perceived as a supremely<br />
personal affair. A politician, an artist, a carpenter or a shop<br />
assistant who is driven by <strong>the</strong> need for self-actualization will<br />
always rediscover this idea <strong>of</strong> service to ano<strong>the</strong>r at <strong>the</strong> heart<br />
<strong>of</strong> what drives him or her. This drive to serve is part <strong>of</strong> human<br />
nature, <strong>and</strong> a person creates meaning for his or her existence<br />
in <strong>the</strong> measure in which this urge is turned into deeds.<br />
Gratification<br />
In people who have been able to develop in a healthy <strong>and</strong><br />
harmonious way, <strong>the</strong>re develops a kind <strong>of</strong> state <strong>of</strong> gratification<br />
in relation to <strong>the</strong> basic needs. “What this means is that,<br />
e.g., a basically satisfied person no longer has <strong>the</strong> needs for<br />
esteem, love, safety , etc. (...) If we are interested in what actually<br />
motivates us, <strong>and</strong> not in what has, will, or might motivate<br />
us, <strong>the</strong>n a satisfied need is not a motivator. It must be<br />
considered for all practical purposes simply not to exist, to<br />
have disappeared. This point should be emphasized because<br />
it has been ei<strong>the</strong>r overlooked or contradicted in every <strong>the</strong>ory<br />
<strong>of</strong> motivation I know. The perfectly healthy, normal, fortunate<br />
man has no sex needs or hunger needs, or needs for<br />
safety, or for love, or for prestige, or self-esteem, except in<br />
stray moments <strong>of</strong> quickly passing threat (...) a healthy man is<br />
primarily motivated by his needs to develop <strong>and</strong> actualize his<br />
fullest potentialities <strong>and</strong> capacities. If a man has any o<strong>the</strong>r<br />
basic needs in any active, chronic sense, <strong>the</strong>n he is simply an<br />
unhealthy man.” (Maslow, 1943a, p. 393-394)<br />
The gratification <strong>of</strong> a basic need must <strong>the</strong>refore be distinguished<br />
from <strong>the</strong> response to a need that occasionally arises.<br />
Everyone will normally eat every day, for instance, but as<br />
long as food supplies are not a problem, hunger will not be<br />
a final motive. In a situation where <strong>the</strong> need for food <strong>and</strong><br />
drink is constantly satisfied, <strong>the</strong>n one can say that <strong>the</strong>se basic<br />
needs are gratified. The needs do not arise as motivators,<br />
even though <strong>the</strong>y must be satisfied from time to time. One<br />
can also say that <strong>the</strong> basic needs only continue to play a role<br />
as derived motivations. Of course, <strong>the</strong>re will still be striving<br />
for security or acquisition <strong>of</strong> knowledge, but in essence this<br />
occurs against <strong>the</strong> background <strong>of</strong>, or relative to, <strong>the</strong> need to<br />
fulfil ones potential as an involved being – a need which is<br />
perceived as deeper <strong>and</strong> <strong>of</strong> greater importance.<br />
According to Maslow, several needs are already gratified in<br />
<strong>the</strong> very early years <strong>of</strong> life. Maslow was impressed by <strong>the</strong> fact<br />
that, as adults, certain people appeared to be mainly motivated<br />
by <strong>the</strong> desire for self-actualization, even if this was accompanied<br />
by serious deficits in <strong>the</strong> area <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> basic needs.<br />
This seems to be an exception to <strong>the</strong> hierarchical order in<br />
which <strong>the</strong> needs act as motivators: “Perhaps more important<br />
than all <strong>the</strong>se exceptions are <strong>the</strong> ones that involve ideals, high<br />
social st<strong>and</strong>ards, high values <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> like. With such values<br />
people become martyrs; <strong>the</strong>y will give up everything for <strong>the</strong><br />
sake <strong>of</strong> a particular ideal, or value. These people may be understood,<br />
at least in part, by reference to one basic concept (or<br />
hypo<strong>the</strong>sis), which may be called ‘increased frustration-tolerance<br />
through early gratification’. People who have been satisfied<br />
in <strong>the</strong>ir earlier years seem to develop exceptional power<br />
to withst<strong>and</strong> present or future thwarting <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>se needs simply<br />
because <strong>the</strong>y have a strong, healthy character structure<br />
as a result <strong>of</strong> basic satisfaction. They are <strong>the</strong> ‘strong’ people<br />
who can easily wea<strong>the</strong>r disagreement or opposition, who can