Maslow and Self-Actualization vs. Self-Transcendence
Abraham Maslow first articulated his hierarchy of needs in a 1943 paper titled A Theory of Human Motivation. His theory would become widely accepted, framing an order to human priorities, with lower levels (e.g. physiological) needing to be satisfied first before one could look higher. The order is, of course:
Physiological Needs - Food, Water, Rest, Warmth
Safety and Security - Resources, Shelter, Employment
Social Connection - Family, Friends, Community, Love
Esteem - Confidence, Respect, Status
Self-Actualization - Reaching One’s Potential
Various aspects of Maslow’s theory are open for debate, including whether these aspects of life actually function in a sequential hierarchy or have a more synchronous relationship. But it’s the elevation of self-actualization as the highest goal that Maslow himself wrestled with the most.
What exactly does self-actualization mean? Maslow states, “This tendency could be expressed as the desire to become more and more what one is, to become all that one is capable of becoming.” This aligns with existentialist thinkers concerned with the project of living one’s own unique life in the fullest, most authentic way possible. Think of Kierkegaard’s statement, “Now, with God’s help, I shall become myself.”
In the context of the twentieth century West, Maslow’s emphasis on self-actualization served to reinforce a culture of hyper-individualization, a trend that has only intensified in our current moment. Today, everything from advertising to therapy culture (is there a difference?) serves a vision of self-actualization that is almost entirely an interior, solo project for autonomous individuals. We are constantly “working on ourselves” to become our “best selves”. But to what end? Is maximizing one’s own potential the true telos of a life well-lived?
These are the questions Maslow himself began asking. And later in his life he grew frustrated with the concept of self-actualization altogether. In 1970 (the year he died), he wrote, “I’d rather leave [the concept] behind me. Just too sloppy and too easily criticizable. Going thru my notes brought this unease to consciousness. It’s been with me for years. Meant to write and publish a self-actualization critique, but somehow never did.”
Even if he never wrote a treatise to revise the concept, that “unease” is present throughout his later writings. But it’s not that the concept had proven false, it’s that is had proven, in his words, “too sloppy”. It needed more thought. What he realized is that he’d simply tried fit too much under the category of self-actualization and needed to delineate one more level in the hierarchy: self-transcendence. In an article from 1966 that he never published, Maslow wrote:
“It must be stated that self-actualization is not enough. Personal salvation and what is good for the person alone cannot be really understood in isolation. Social psychology is, therefore necessary. The good of other people must be invoked, as well as the good for oneself, even though it must be demonstrated how these are - or may be - synergic …”
In his later writings, Maslow began to speak more of transcendence, which he described as, “the very highest and most inclusive or holistic levels of human consciousness, behaving and relating, as ends rather than means, to oneself, to significant others, to human beings in general, to other species, to nature, and to the cosmos."
This element of Maslow’s theory is a direct critique of hyper-individualization. Again, he writes, “This means unselfish. This means transcendence of the selfish Self. It also implies a wider circle of identifications, i.e., with more people approaching the limit of identification with all human beings.”
In this revised hierarchy, self-actualization is a step toward a greater connection with others, the earth, the divine, etc. He writes:
“As [the self-actualized individual] gets to be more purely and singly himself he is more able to fuse with the world, with what was formerly not-self, for example, the lovers come closer to forming a unit rather than two people, the I-Thou monism becomes more possible, the creator becomes one with his work being created, the mother feels one with her child.”
Maslow, again:
“The goal of identity [self-actualization] seems to be simultaneously an end-goal in itself, and also a transitional goal, a rite of passage, a step along the path to the transcendence of identity. … If our goal is the Eastern one of ego-transcendence and obliteration, of leaving behind self-consciousness and self-observation, … then it looks as if the best path to this goal for most people is via achieving identity, a strong real self, and via basic-need-gratification.”
Reflection Questions
Do you agree with Maslow’s hierarchical ordering of needs / motivations?
What is your relationship with the concept of self-actualization? What does it evoke for you?
Would you place self-transcendence at the top of the pyramid?
What does self-transcendence mean to you and how do you find it?