What is a need? In economics, a need is something that an organism requires to survive. These basic needs include food, water, shelter, and safety. But what if a person needs something different? What are the differences between a physical need and a psychological need? Which of these two approaches is right for you? This article explores the various ways to define needs and what they mean. The following is an example of the differences between a need and a psychological need.
A situation of need is similar to a peril or danger. In these cases, a person or thing needs to be supplied. Need is a verb in the transitive (or conditional) tense, which takes to before the following verb. The verb need also can be used in conditional clauses. It’s usually followed by the past participle, but sometimes the verb need is omitted altogether. In the British Isles, need is often used in conjunction with the past participle.
A person may have multiple wants, and a desire for one of them might be mistaken for a need. To determine whether a person has a need for a particular thing, they should ask themselves if they could survive without it. If so, the desire is considered a want. But if not, it’s a desire. It’s important to recognize that needs, like wants, can change over time. If they aren’t met, people will develop illnesses or die.
Psychologists often refer to the hierarchy of needs as Maslow’s five-tier model. The five levels of the hierarchy are: basic physiological needs, safety, love and belonging, and self-actualization. Each of these needs differs based on the individual’s circumstances. For example, if a child is suffering from severe physical or emotional trauma, they may develop a fixation on their basic physiological needs. If they achieve everything else, they may still obsess over food.
In spite of this apparent contradiction, many creative people have lived in poverty for much of their lives. The artist Rembrandt, a painter who lived in poverty for most of his life, for example, may have been able to create works of art, even if they did not have the means to pay for it. The concept of a hierarchy of needs has been challenged in many aspects. Many people live in poverty, and they can still meet higher-order needs. However, Maslow’s theory has not been proven to be right for everyone.
The language of need is also diverse. Old English need and necesitate are both derivatives of the Old English nead. Both are related to the Proto-Germanic *naudiz, meaning “dead”. Similarly, the German word neot means “desire”, while Middle Low German nut is a synonym for zeal. In this way, the language of need and desire is a vital part of human life.