Intro
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs (often visualized as a pyramid, with the lower levels at the bottom) is one way to organize (general) human needs into higher and lower categories.
It’s not a perfect representation, but I find it helpful to reference when thinking about my needs, other people’s needs, or society’s needs. I consider it vaguely similar to a Periodic Table, but for human psychology instead of physical elements.
Hierarchy of Needs
[Editing note: Oops! I just realized Wikipedia had this lovely visual. It may differ slightly in wording than the below summary by ChatGPT. I’ll tidy this up later. -D&&]
Here’s the classic version of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs (1943), presented as a pyramid of human motivation, from bottom to top:
1. Physiological Needs (basic survival)
Food, water, shelter, sleep, air, warmth, reproduction.
2. Safety Needs
Physical security, health, financial stability, protection from harm, order, law.
3. Love and Belonging
Friendships, intimacy, family, social connections, community.
4. Esteem
Respect from others (status, recognition, reputation) and self-respect (confidence, mastery, independence).
5. Self-Actualization
Realizing personal potential, creativity, moral development, problem solving, personal growth.
[Source: Summarized by ChatGPT (GPT-5), 2025-08-18. Minor formatting edits by D&&.]
Additional thoughts
ChatGPT was correct to identify certain critiques of this schema. Maslow posited that humans seek to fulfill the lower levels first, before attacking the mid-tier and higher levels. In reality, this is not the case. One can still seek “respect” or “intimacy” when starving.
Maybe it’s best to think of the hierarchy as a list of priorities? (What a default human tends to prioritize?)
Knowledge limits
I’ll need to read more on this topic. There are probably academics on the complete other end, who throw out the entire hierarchy. These theories are valuable to learn about as well. Even if I disagree, they can be wonderful for comparison, or “poking holes” in the theory (to better discern its practical limits).