A PHILOSOPHER AND ITS PHILOSOPHY

Abraham Maslow, in full Abraham Harold Maslow, also called Abraham H.

Maslow, (born April 1, 1908, New York, New York, U.S.—died June 8, 1970, Menlo Park,
California), American psychologist and philosopher best known for his self-
actualization theory of psychology, which argued that the primary goal
of psychotherapy should be the integration of the self.

Maslow studied psychology at the University of Wisconsin and Gestalt

psychology at the New School for Social Research in New York City before joining the
faculty of Brooklyn College in 1937. In 1951 he became head of the psychology
department at Brandeis University (Waltham, Massachusetts), where he remained
until 1969.

Influenced by existentialist philosophers and literary figures, Maslow was an

important contributor in the United States to humanistic psychology, which was
sometimes called the “third force,” in opposition to behaviourism and psychoanalysis.

In his major works, Motivation and Personality (1954) and Toward a Psychology
of Being (1962), Maslow argued that each person has a hierarchy of needs that must
be satisfied, ranging from basic physiological requirements to love, esteem, and,
finally, self-actualization. As each need is satisfied, the next higher level in the
emotional hierarchy dominates conscious functioning. Maslow believed that truly
healthy people were self-actualizers because they satisfied the highest psychological
needs, fully integrating the components of their personality, or self. His papers,
published posthumously, were issued in 1971 as The Farther Reaches of Human Nature.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs explains that lower need must be satisfied first
before the higher levels of need become motivation. Every stage has striving and
motivational characters that called conative needs. The Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
has five levels or stages of needs. It is the physiological needs, safety and security
needs, love and belongingness needs, esteem needs, and lastly, self-actualization.

Physiological needs are our breathing, food, water, sex, sleep, homeostasis,
excretion. Most proponent of all five basic need because it is the primary motivation
of us. In this need, you must be satisfied first yourself before the other needs. Most
concerned is the satisfaction of self or survival.

Safety and security needs are security of: body, employment, resources,
morality, the family, health, and property. Need of protection and freedom from
threatening forces or event – war, illness, fear, anxiety, danger, chaos, and natural
disaster - including needs for law and order. It differs in psychological. You cannot be
overly satisfied because you can never be completely protected from natural
disasters, accidents or dangers acts of others. Most of the time, adults are satisfied or
healthy of this stage however, on kids they are more often motivated by safety needs
because their life is like there is always a threat – darkness, animals, strangers, or even
punishment from their parents

Love/belongingness needs are friendship, family, sexual intimacy. After

satisfying the need from physiological and safety, you become motivated to this level
– desire in friendship, wish for a lover/spouse, need to belong a family. If when you’re
a kid and your need in love and belongingness are satisfied, you don’t panic. When
other rejects you, you don’t feel devastated and pity. There are also people who didn’t
fulfill their needs in this level – they are not capable on giving love, have seldom and
never been hug/cuddle or any form of love language – those peoples will eventually
learn the value of love and takes its absence for granted.

Esteem needs are self-esteem, confidence, achievement, respect of others,

respect by others. The followings are the two levels of esteem needs, according to
Maslow.

Reputation – prestige, recognition or fame of a person that achieved in

the eyes of others

Self-esteem – feelings of worth and confidence. It is based on reputation

or prestige. It is the “desire for strength” for achievement, adequacy,
mastery, competence, confidence in the face of the world,
independence, and freedom. In other words, self-esteem is based on real
opinion of real competence and not only in the opinion of other people.
Once a people meet their esteem needs, they stand on the threshold of
self-actualization, the highest need that recognized by Maslow.

Self-actualization is the needs for morality, creativity, spontaneity, problem

solving, lack of prejudice, and acceptance of facts. When lower needs are satisfied,
you can proceed on more or less automatically on the next level. However, once the
esteem needs are met you are no longer moved on the next level of actualization.
People who are self-actualized are more concerned with the welfare of love ones –
friends, humanity – than their selves. Time to think the others. Peoples are usually
committed to some cost or thoughts rather than working for fame or money. These
people are open, honest and have the courage to act on with convictions. Even if they
are not unpopular, they are not interested on fashion, new trends, social customs
because they enjoy their privacy and independence. Also, their feelings for close
friends are intensely positive and caring. They preferred deep loving relationship with
only few persons. They are not surrounded with many people. One or two friend is
enough. Their perspective is more realistic than romanticized, imagined instead they
will do it right away. They do what they want because they are positive about life. They
didn’t think those negative that will happen. They didn’t have a dilemma. When a
person is self-actualized, life is always challenging and fresh because they have
already experienced the moment of great joy and satisfaction.

If you are not satisfied with your safety, meaning you are not self-actualized. If
you are not satisfied with your esteem, you don’t have the confidence, you are not self-
actualized. In physiological, you must be satisfied. In safety, you must be fulfilled. In
love/belongingness, you must be contented. In esteem, you must have high self-
esteem. In self-actualization, you must meet all you must do on all the levels of
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.

CORPUZ, JODETH C.
BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN NURSING
Section A