Masow’s Hierarchy of Human Survival Essay Example

for causes a loss of morality. We don't get to know any of the cannibals' stories, but we can presume that their act of eating humans signifies a loss of humanity. The text implies that with food stores gone, murder became widespread across the land.As McCarthy (250) suggests, in a world largely populated by men who resort to harmful actions in order to survive, the "bad guys" are depleting the already scarce population by killing humans, without regard for the fundamental needs of others. According to Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs, when a human lacks any of the essential needs, they will react negatively. The most crucial need for human survival is physiological needs, and those fighting for their needs will do so in any way they can. While the father and son find temporary solutions to their lack of food, such as eating snow, others resort to more drastic measures such as cannibalism. These reactions to the lack of physiological needs may be due to a loss of other areas of Maslow's hierarchy, specifically love and belonging. Humans need to feel a sense of belonging and acceptance among their social groups, and to love and be loved. Thus, Maslow suggests that basic human needs include love and relationships. The father and son in The Road have each other to love and rely on, but are still very much alone in the world. Therefore, it can be inferred that the majority of the remaining human population is also alone.The state of society in which there is a significant lack of trust has led to a lack of relationships between non-family members. As McCarthy describes, this

deficiency in relationships results in a negative reaction to their conditions and is detrimental to fully establishing Mascots hierarchy of needs. Erich From's The Art of Loving presents a theory on achieving the third tier of Mascots hierarchy of needs, which highlights the importance of love and belonging. Broom's theory on the most fundamental need in life is "union" or "togetherness," which is necessary to escape feelings of aloneness. From explains that the experience of being alone or lacking unity is a central cause of anxiety and despair. The absence of human interaction and no development of new relationships means that humans do not have a need or desire to be good. Combined with a lack of physiological needs, this absence results in normal humans resorting to any means possible to acquire food. When they lose their ability to develop relationships, their moral compasses are diminished, leading to viewing humans not as peers to respect and care for, but as a means for survival.