The Underlying Premise of human life -- is a RIGHT TO LIFE that begins at birth. The Right to life does not guarantee a life, but it does define the existence of potential independence for a mature self aware human being. Birth requires Conception which in turn depends upon satisfying the NEEDS a fertile male and a fertile female human being to start the process of conception.
The theory behind the organization of Needs, Wants and Desires is based on the life-cycle of the organism or superorganism under study. The life cycle of any organism consists of the definition and identification of "a psychological self". The "self" is the physical identity of the individual with the capacity to satisfy its own physical "needs". It is the responsibility of the parents to satisfy those needs until such time as the infant is old enough and developed enough to perform these functions for her/himself.
The second stage in development is the formation of the "social self," where one's identity is defined in part by the choices one can and does make to meet those needs. These are determined by the physical and social environments that presents the individual with viable choices. The social order defines the range and priority choices available. The selection of different alternative ends to the choice situation manifest themselves as individual "wants". Some of these choices are dictated by the status/role the individual holds within the group while others by one's unique environment in time and space.
The third stage in development is the formation of individual's definition of self within the social group. These take the form of "desires". Desires are choices defined as personal needs that produce "preferential choices" . These "desires" can be defined in general using Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. As one's social self becomes defined, one's "choices" slowly emerge as "preferences" and then as "status" symbols and eventually as "status needs". A "status-need" is a social or cultural symbol created by the group or society. These become assumed by society as the requirements for obtaining and hold a position or status in the community.
While operating on an individual level, these characteristics take on a "social" significance among humans when the concepts of biological/social family and generational inheritance become "cultural norms." Here the cultural norms can be interpreted as the basis for the Maslowian concept of the hierarchy of "needs".
Satisfaction of basic needs is how an individual acquires the resources that enable it to survive and grow in a social position. As the individual grows he/she learns how to replicate goal oriented behaviors critical to his/her survival. They begin to engage in actions to obtain the resources they have learned are necessary to achieve their goals. In this process, the society also grows over time most often generationally.
Self – is the story of one’s emergence as a human being and involves one’s own experiences from birth to “age of responsibility”. This changes with time. And it changes with the interaction between the elements of physical growth: sexual awakening, social independence and responsibility, and cultural training and integration into society.
If the time spent or required to achieve physical or sexual maturity, for example, increases, this can effect the ability to chose or change social roles. This in turn limits the range of cultural roles available to the Self. That is, on average, as life becomes more complex, one must spend more time in the process of developing a sense of self. Yet, on another level, as the society and the culture becomes more complex and specialized, the time between birth and the choice of career also increases. This differential may be overcome by the individual's inheritance at the generational level.
Career – is the period when the individual commits to an active role in the society. This active role involves learning and practicing role specific behaviors, or one's status in society. The behaviors and role maybe Self- generated or situationally Socially generated. In essence, this stage of development is a mixture of one’s personal requirements (NEEDS) and society’s ability to address the range of WANTS that “most” of the society shares by to providing its individuals with choices to satisfy personal NEEDS.
Life – is the period when the individual has obtained his/her maximum power within society and their position of independence in the world. It is that point when the individual loses the powers (physical, social, and cultural) to fulfill all of his/her "WANTS" and instead makes the choice to concentrates on his/her "DESIRES". This is the stage when one chooses from among their personal WANTS and defines their priority. High priority "wants" turn into "desires". In the personal and communal realems, "desires" become priority "choices" or "needs".
On the social level, this is the breaking point between an individual's DESIRES and the historic WANTS and NEEDS of Society. That is, the next generation inherits the current choices that their parents and society, and assume these represent inherited RIGHTS defining their DESIRED choice.
There is a conflict within the socio-cultural system when the DESIRED Choice established by the past generation are in conflict with the “NEEDED” choice claimed by a successor generation.
This is the Cultural problem facing the community. The ability to choose, whether it be physical, environmental, or social becomes the evolutionary engine of the individual human and the social human advancement. As generations diverse based on their own definitions of NEEDS and the ability of Society to fill those NEEDS with a RIGHT to Choose, Choices transform into DESIRES and DESIRES into NEEDS.
Solving this problem is the basis of social and political debate, especially in more complex societies. It is a debate over whether the community will select the 'best' prepared candidate for the job or the best candidate from the "best" sector of the community. The former leads to democracy, while the latter can lead to a class or caste based socio-cultural system.
No comments:
Post a Comment