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On the basis of these concepts we will try
to make clear that it is good for people not to overstep their
own and other people's boundaries in their contact with others,
be it people or animals. Restraint that is based on inability
to make contact is not desirable and is not the definition of
freedom we envision. In order to handle the freedom of others,
it is important that people feel when it is proper to restrain
themselves, namely at the point where their individual freedom
ends and other people's freedom begins.
Only when people know when to restrain themselves there is room
for respecting others. Respect then means something
like "keeping a certain distance and making
sure that I do not limit others in their freedom" and "knowing
when not to touch something or to omit something". It is essential
that self-restraint is a voluntary act. Respect is also linked
to involvement. Between these two concepts
there exists the same tension as exists between self-restraint
and self-realization.
Abraham Maslow, a humanistic psychologist, placed the conditions
for self-realization in a pyramid:
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Self-actualization |
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5 |
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Need for recognition |
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4 |
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Social Needs |
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3 |
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Need for safety |
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2 |
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Physiological needs |
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Normally, parents, as well as school, set
the conditions for teenagers to develop and fulfil their social
needs. Adults try to find recognition and appreciation in
their work.
Modern developments in the workplace, in which flexibility
and responsibility are stressed, give possibilities for self-realization
but also generate the fear that more basic needs cannot be
satisfied. Managers that change jobs more quickly than their
employees, companies run by people who are only after the
big money, no longer provide a safe basis from which to function.
Combined with high work pressure they block the possibility
of self-realization and threaten to oppress the possibility
of self-realization for vulnerable others (e.g. teenagers).
Only when the basic needs
are fulfilled, people can start to fulfill their higher
needs.
- Physiological needs are the elementary
and primary necessities of life, such as food and drink,
sleep, rest and warmth.
- Safety needs are: security, protection
and safety of existence.
- Social needs are the need for love, interaction
with others, friendship and attention. People want to belong
to a group or community to share experiences.
- Needs for recognition can be the wish
to be appreciated and respected. People want to be complimented
and have status, but they also want to have self respect.
- Self-realization or self-actualization
is the need for knowledge, truth, beauty and wisdom. When
people reach this stage, they start to fully develop the
capacities, capabilities and talents they have in themselves.
The chances of enjoying a happy life (with
Peak-experiences) are good.
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