David Simoes-Brown reflects on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and wonders about the possible selfishness involved in the top layer of self-actualising. He finds Maslow himself elaborates on this.
I was prompted to check the wikipedia entry for criticism and found some closely related argument that the conventional hierarchy reflects an individualist rather than a collectivist mindset.
Some also question the notion of hierarchy at all, and I’m inclined to agree. This model is so well established that I think we take the implicit idea as a given. I think this is the trap with all models and techniques; they may initially offer insight and then quickly start to filter the way we experience the world.
