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Sazerac · 06-03-2002, 09:33 AM

Inspired by the football thread...Do we need entertainment as a basic survival mechanism, or is it a frivolous luxury that could well be done away with?

Maslow's Hierarchy of needs posits that there are five levels of basic needs that all humans require: Survival, Security, Social, Esteem, and Self-Actualization. These are a hierarchy because the needs of one level should be fulfilled before the next level is activated.

1. Survival needs include hunger, thirst, bodily comforts, shelter, and other basic physiological drives.

2. Security needs include the need to be safe and to protect oneself from harm.

3. Social needs include the need to be accepted by others, to love and be loved, and to give and receive affection.

4. Esteem needs include the need for status and recognition, the need to achieve and be competent, or even excel in one's chosen areas.

5. Self-actualization needs include the need to solve complex problems and situations, appreciating life, and a need to realize one's potential. This level can be further subdivided into:
[ul]A. Knowledge: the ability to know, to understand, and to explore
B. Aesthetic: the need for order, beauty, and entertainment
C. Trancendence: the need to help others find self-fulfillment and actualize their potential.[/ul]

So even though "entertainment" is listed in the hierarchy as a basic need, it is at the topmost level, meaning that other needs must be fulfilled before reaching this level, if Maslow's model is considered tenable. How many people are actually functioning at this level?

Is entertainment, then, really necessary to the current world we live in, or is it an addiction; a palliative that we use to drown out our problems?

My belief is that entertainment is necessary to one's well-being, and vitally so. I will give my reasons later as A) I have to get to class now

and B) I want to hear other's responses without my biasing the situation.

Thanks,
-Sazerac

06-03-2002, 09:33 AM	#1
Sazerac Ironworks Moderator Join Date: January 7, 2001 Location: Monroe, LA Age: 61 Posts: 7,387	Inspired by the football thread...Do we need entertainment as a basic survival mechanism, or is it a frivolous luxury that could well be done away with? Maslow's Hierarchy of needs posits that there are five levels of basic needs that all humans require: Survival, Security, Social, Esteem, and Self-Actualization. These are a hierarchy because the needs of one level should be fulfilled before the next level is activated. 1. Survival needs include hunger, thirst, bodily comforts, shelter, and other basic physiological drives. 2. Security needs include the need to be safe and to protect oneself from harm. 3. Social needs include the need to be accepted by others, to love and be loved, and to give and receive affection. 4. Esteem needs include the need for status and recognition, the need to achieve and be competent, or even excel in one's chosen areas. 5. Self-actualization needs include the need to solve complex problems and situations, appreciating life, and a need to realize one's potential. This level can be further subdivided into: [ul]A. Knowledge: the ability to know, to understand, and to explore B. Aesthetic: the need for order, beauty, and *entertainment* C. Trancendence: the need to help others find self-fulfillment and actualize their potential.[/ul] So even though "entertainment" is listed in the hierarchy as a basic need, it is at the topmost level, meaning that other needs must be fulfilled before reaching this level, if Maslow's model is considered tenable. How many people are actually functioning at this level? Is entertainment, then, really necessary to the current world we live in, or is it an addiction; a palliative that we use to drown out our problems? My belief is that entertainment is necessary to one's well-being, and vitally so. I will give my reasons later as A) I have to get to class now and B) I want to hear other's responses without my biasing the situation. Thanks, -Sazerac __________________ "And all my days are trances, and all my nightly dreams, Are where thy grey eye glances, and where thy footstep gleams, In what ethereal dances, by what eternal streams..."