Human needs - real and imaginary

In order to understand what human needs are and how they differ from the needs of plants and animals, we will first have to understand what the term "needs" means.

Needs in psychology and philosophy is called a state that is inherent exclusively to living organisms. This condition expresses the dependence of the organism on the conditions of the environment for existence, development. This condition determines the forms of activity of the organism.

Different organisms have different needs. Plants need only a mineral substrate for food, light and water.

The needs of animals are more diverse, despite the fact that they are based on instincts. Fear, food, the desire for reproduction, sleep - these are the basic "needs" of animal organisms.

Human needs are very, very diverse. They are caused by two main factors: the presence of the first (common with animals) and the second signal system (speech and thinking) and a high mental organization. That is why human needs are so ambiguous, purposeful and are the main source of personal activity.

The peculiarity of a person is that he is able to realize his own subjective ideas about the need with an objective content. Only man is able to understand that in order to satisfy the need, we must first set a goal, and then reach it.

Even the physical needs of man differ from the needs of animals. That is why they are directly related to the forms of activity and can change significantly during life.

Human needs are represented as his desires, aspirations, drives and attachments, and their satisfaction is always accompanied by the emergence of appraising emotions. Joy, satisfaction, pride, anger, shame, discontent - that's what distinguishes a person from animals.

The form of manifestation of need is desire. They are traced in aspirations and hobbies, they move the entire life of a person and his activities.

The subject of "man and his needs" is studied by scientists of many specialties: philosophers, psychologists, economists, etc., and they all came to an unequivocal opinion: if we talk about a man, his needs are unlimited.

This is explained simply. One need leads to another. As the satisfaction of some, a person has other needs.

Classification of needs - the concept is ambiguous, there are many. For example:

• Needs related to the sphere of human activity: this is the need for work, new knowledge, the need for rest and communication.
• The object of application of needs can be material, spiritual, biological, aesthetic and other spheres of life.
• Subjectively, the needs are divided into group and individual, public and collective.
• By the nature of the activity: game, sex, food, defensive, communicative, cognitive.
• According to the functional role of the need, many scientists believe, can be dominant or secondary, central or peripheral, stable or situational.

Their classification of needs was proposed by H. Murray, B. I. Dodonov, Guilford, Maslow and other researchers. Despite a somewhat different approach, in one almost all of them converge.

All human needs can be divided into natural and culturally acquired. Natural are based on instincts, fixed at the level of genetics.

Cultural are acquired with age. They can be simple acquired or complex acquired. The first arise on the basis of their own experience (for example, the need to communicate with friends or the need for a favorite work). The latter arise on the basis of non-empirical own conclusions. For example, believers need confession not because they made their own conclusion that it is necessary, but because it is generally accepted that after confession it becomes easier.