Big Question of the Day: Why do some people never seem to think beyond the self?

I think part of the reason I named this blog, “Where Do We Go From Here?” is that I never know where my brain is going next.  You may have even noticed that I might have a plan for the next day, but then my brain goes somewhere else.  It just does; so please excuse me if it feels all over the place but there is a thread.  Really!  So please just go with it, K? 

After spending several days pondering how humans determine “right” from “wrong” a commonality comes out.  All moral reasoning involves individual choices that result in consequences for the self AND others.  We know this and it seems pretty obvious.  In fact, this is the basis for Utilitarianism (discussed in previous posts).  Thoughts about this group of humans we are trying to survive with on this earth reminds me of human needs.

If you’ve studied basic psychology the name Maslow might ring a bell.  He developed a hierarchy of needs in pyramid form. The pyramid is still the most common structure with physiological needs at the base and self-actualization at the tip. I have seen a variation of human needs shown in the form of a word web (What is a Word Web? Classroom Examples & More - Vocabulicious ).  What’s nice about seeing human needs visualized that way is it takes the viewer beyond the base, physiological needs, to psychological and social needs that are equally important for things such as learning and functioning well in society.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

If we think in terms of body, mind and spirit, the bodily concerns are at the base because our survival on this planet depends on these. This is survival at its core. As we ascend we get into psychological (mental and emotional) needs because we are gifted with a mind that thinks and feels and runs everything in the body. We are naturally designed to live in community with each other as none of us can provide for ourselves all our needs in all ways at all times.  I know some say they can and might even try, but these people suffer for it and things tend to go very bad from there.

Stay with me!  It’s going to get good and deep now which makes MY brain, at least, REALLY happy!

Spirituality resides…get this…at the TOP of the hierarchy.  Self-actualization my friends.  Morality exists at the TOP.  I am not making any particular connection between the two. While some may link the two, I don’t believe there is a causal relationship there. They just both exist at the same level in my opinion. I think of self-actualization as being the person the Creator (by whatever name you use) created them to be. It does make sense, though. Think about it.  It is difficult to think in terms of moral perspective and/or spirituality when your physical and psychological needs have not been fully met.  These are NEEDS of a person.  Not hopes and dreams and unicorn horns.  The brain focuses on the self at the base level. It’s designed to and physical survival of the self needs that. As we ascend the pyramid and more needs are met, then we can think, and I do mean THINK, beyond the self to others who share our space of existence as social beings.

What does this mean for us as a community, a society of human beings trying to make a go of it? It means humans will struggle mightily with moral thinking and for some, it may not ever happen because they are operating from a tremendously need-compromised state of being. We all are at various extents because we are all flawed beings dinging up each other’s pyramid whether we intend to or not.

Wow! That’s really depressing. Good news…we need some good news here…

I got it! Perhaps understanding all this will make it easier for us to be more patient, compassionate, understanding, loving, less judgmental and forgiving of our fellow humans, more like the person the Creator created us to be. Maybe we are better prepared to enter into conversations or understand who is ready for those conversations. Perhaps we gain a better sense of what needs we can pump up for others or what we need from others.

Where do we go from here? Or better yet, where will you or I go from here? We are in this world together. Go, team, go!

Source: Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs