We all have needs.  Maslow was a  physchologist who wrote a paper proposing a heirarchy of human needs which could be used to help explain  motivation and behaviour through our life cycle.

On a macro basis this grouping and prioritization into basic categories seems intuitive and applicable in most cases.

On a more specific level needs can be very subjective and contextual ( much like the value equation I posted about the other day)

Need versus Want

Do we need what we want?  Arguably wanting something is a key aspect of need and motivating in and of itself.  Wanting on it’s own does not establish need but need usually won’t exist without want, that is a desire to aquire.

Maslow argues the basic heirarchy of needs are things intrinsic to the human condition and that there is a default need for these things for all of us.

Back to the concept of subjectivity

In any given situation, whether need exists depends very much on the eye of the beholder.   A simple argument against this could be that we all need food and that is not subjective.  Actually, I could choose not to eat,  perhaps my need to starve, for a political reason or just to pass peaceably to the next world is my choice.

This would of course be an exception case but it does occur.  Some might argue the need still existed and not eating was not natural behaviour. The question then becomes what is natural behavior and who decides that.