Do humans need entertainment?

[Sazerac]

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

yes

[Talthyr Malkaviel]

I think that we certainly do need entertainment, think about it, how much time of your life do you spend entertaining yourself, however you are doing it, computers, much time spent on them is for enjoyment.. talking to your friends.. you don't need to do it to survive, but I suppose that's more of a social need, but then also board games, television, so many different ways of entertainment, what would our lives be like without any of it, I think it would be unbelievably boring.

[Yorick]

Yes.

If life has enjoyment, it makes surviving necessary.

(From the old, "art isn't necessary for survival but makes surviving necessary" quote.)

[ 06-03-2002, 09:44 AM: Message edited by: Yorick ]

[Horatio]

I'd have to say yes, too. Except this ain't a SPAM like LS.
You know the animal charity ads, where you see the baby monkeys rocking back and fowards cos they've been driven mad through boredom? That's us, man. Brrr...

[johnny]

of course we need entertainment in our lives, the world would be a dull place if there wasn't any. There would probably be a lot more agression too.

Originally posted by Horatio: I'd have to say yes, too. Except this ain't a SPAM like LS. You know the animal charity ads, where you see the baby monkeys rocking back and fowards cos they've been driven mad through boredom? That's us, man. Brrr...

not spam [img]tongue.gif[/img] - it answered a badly phrased question that could suggest yes/no answers [img]tongue.gif[/img]

without entertainment what would be the point?

[johnny]

here's an example for ya: this forum is a kind of entertainment, isn't it ? Well, if it wasn't for this forum i'd probably be in a bar right now drinking my ass off and picking a fight with some other drunken bum. But now i'm here with you guys having a coke and a smile, to me that's entertainment. lol

[Sazerac]

Originally posted by Lord Shield: not spam [img]tongue.gif[/img] - it answered a badly phrased question that could suggest yes/no answers [img]tongue.gif[/img] without entertainment what would be the point?

The point of WHAT, LS? Surely you have more of an opinion about it than just this?

The question was NOT badly phrased, unless all you do is read a topic title, fire off an answer, then leave...in which case it *IS* spam. There are some people even in the world today who believe that entertainment is frivolous and unnecessary, and those who believe that it is necessary and vital for health and well-being.

If you DON'T have more of an opinion about it than your answer, then...what's the point of responding?

-Sazerac

[johnny]

saz, you probably mean the taliban ? They don't allow entertainment, but their days are numbered so we can all have fun again.