Your take on Maslow is closer to my understanding. I'd approach the idea
of "sequence" vs. "simultaneous" more holistically.
He's talking about human development, where all activated levels
function at once. He's talking about increasing integration, and
integrity of action as a human (vs. as a collection of hungers.) It
isn't so much a hierarchy of needs, as a hierarchy of aspirations. As
one grasps more fully what one may be or become (self actualization),
one aspires to more. In a sense one invents, or discovers additional
"needs" that inform and motivate action. The old needs don't go away;
one can still get hungry.
In many ways, the words "hierarchy" and "needs" are unfortunate.
It's important also to mention all the levels, including the ones
between "hunger" and "self actualization". There is a level where one
seeks approval of others, and one's culture, essentially judging one's
self in provided (externally) vs. discovered (internally) terms. In the
US, and other affluent nations, we get more stuff not because we want
the stuff for itself (essentially a lower-level need for food, shelter;
stuff), but because others tell us that we are valued in terms of our
stuff (an intermediate need; approval). This is different from self
actualization, where we feel competent to judge for ourselves whether
having stuff matters or not.
My words aren't up to the subtlety of his model(s), but it isn't
either/or, nor is it sequential, nor is it a series of levers that
people respond to.
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--James Bullock <jbullock@pipeline.com>
Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>