ygolo said:
Note: it says the needs higher needs only come into focus once (not are not met till) the lower ones are satisfied.
So they could already be met, but that is not what is focused on. It could be in a tribal village, that they go from basic food-needs directly to self-actualization because the needs in-between are already met.
I am wondering how accurate that is.
I hadn't thought about it in those terms. I think Maslow's hierarchy normally suggests to people that they should achieve each one successively from the bottom up. I do not agree with that, but I can agree with what you say. They may have their needs met, but not even realize it. It's not that the needs are met in a particular order, but simply that awareness of what one lacks comes into focus in a particular order.
Could you talk more about this, or provide some more examples (references to books / web articles etc.) if you have any at hand?
It is definitely possible I am seeing this through a western mindset and did not even realize it... go ahead, expand my mind.
What I am thinking of in particular is that in order for a person to have their love, esteem, self-actualization, etc... needs met they first have to give up survival and safety needs. Let me see if I can give a couple of examples. One comes from Tolstoy's
Confession, in chapter thirteen he says:
"I renounced the life of our class and recongnized that this is not life but only the semblance of life, that the conditions of luxury under which we live make it impossible for us to understand life, and that in order to understand life I must understand not the life of those of us who are parasites but the life of the simple working people, those who create life and give it meaning."
...
"Man's task in life is to save his soul. In order to save our souls, we must live according to the ways of God, and in order to live according to the ways of God, we must renounce the sensual pleasures of life; we must labor, suffer and be kind and humble."
Tolstoy found meaning in life from living with the Russian peasants. The needs higher on Maslow's hierarchy: love, esteem, self-actualization, etc... were met by giving up many of the physical things that were ensuring his safety and security needs.
Also the Bible talks about giving up what you have to gain something greater. Consider this quote:
"I tell you the truth," Jesus replied, "no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in the present age (homes, borthers, sisters, mothers, children and fields-and with them, persecutions) and in the age to come, eternal life."
-Mark 10:29-30
I use this quote mostly because it is clear that you are not simply gaining something in the next life, but in the current life as well. I think there are better quotes though that illustrate the idea that you must give up physical safety/luxury/survival type things in order to gain something greater. That greater something is in this life, not simply the next one. That greater something is along the lines of love, esteem, etc..., i.e. the type of things that come from forgiveness and fellowship.
Unfortunately I do not have a good quote from Joseph Campbell handy, but I'll very roughly paraphrase that the Hero's Journey basically talks about the same things. The hero must start out by leaving behind what is familiar to him, the safety of home and the like, in order to face his trials and ultimately gain a boon. These stories are often metaphors of a person's coming of age, so they represent giving up the safety of home in order to gain esteem, a wife, knowledge of oneself, etc....
In all of these cases though the idea is that there is something to be gained in leaving behind survival and security needs, and that something is generally related to a person's love, esteem, self-actualization, etc... needs.