Some time ago I discovered Manfred Max-Neef’s Fundamental human needs taxonomy:

Unlike Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, which focuses on a hierarchy of psychological needs, Max-Neef talks about needs that are complementary, all of which are necessary to achieve satisfaction.

Indeed, the Maslow’s hierarchy seems to me kind of opinionated and arbitrary.
If only the game was as simple as reaching the imaginary top, somewhere across the infinite ladder.
If only there were no such stories when self-actualization comes with the loss of some or all goodies listed below it.

Perhaps there are enough pyramids in the world already, and this one has to go.

Trunk

According to Marshall Rosenberg, my needs may be exactly the same as of any other human. But my values are probably different. These are not entirely independent concepts: if the needs are variables, then values are, well, their values. The more deficiently a need is met, the more valuable it may be to tend it. And as any quest it may involve multiple steps, thus the means and ends.

Branches

Each edge represents a prediction that with some probability X leads to Y.
It’s only a draft, of course.

%% If you read this text, it means MermaidJS does not work in this browser as expected :( graph LR %% Means Explore(Explore) Knowledge(Knowledge) Wealth(Wealth) Change(Change) Health(Health) %% Ends Play((Play)) Dream((Dream)) Grow((Grow)) %% Causality Explore --> Knowledge Knowledge --> Health Knowledge --> Wealth Knowledge --> Change Wealth --> Health Change --> Health Health --> Play Health --> Dream Health --> Grow %% Links click Explore "#explore" click Knowledge "#knowledge" click Wealth "#wealth" click Change "#change" click Health "#health" click Play "#play" click Dream "#dream" click Grow "#grow"

Means

Explore

Knowledge

Wealth

  • Money is not pieces of paper, it is the common currency of caring. Hence the old saying: “Money makes the world go ‘round, love barely keeps it from blowing up.”

Change

Health

  • The most terminal value?

“Ends”

Play

  • With Alan Watts’ speculation: “Existence, the physical universe, is basically playful. There is no necessity for it whatsoever. It isn’t going anywhere. It doesn’t have a destination that it ought to arrive at. But it is best understood by analogy with music, because music, as an art form, is essentially playful. We say you play the piano, you don’t work the piano."

Dream

  • While in a lucid dream and while making it more real.

Grow

  • Spiral out 🌀 Keep going