Philosophy Now Forum

There are needs you have to have (oxygen) and there are needs you have to be able to have (companionship). Of the latter there are the ones you will need sometimes (health care) and those you might need sometime (auto insurance).

There are four things a human being 'needs' to live. The rest are just 'wants'.

Oh, and by the way, 'wanting' what you do NOT 'need', is 'greed'.

Coming up with "rationalizations" for your 'wants' are just 'false justifications', which PROVES just how 'greedy' a person 'you' actually are.

The more "rationalizations" that 'you' come up with, then the more 'greedy' 'you' ARE.

And, the more 'greedy' 'you' are then the harder it is for ALL of 'us' to live in the 'world', which we ALL Truly 'want', AND DESIRE.

Advocate wrote: ↑Mon Dec 14, 2020 3:57 am There are needs you have to have (oxygen) and there are needs you have to be able to have (companionship).

It's a little more difficult than that. The needs of any organism are determined by the complexity of that organism. A mealworm doesn't need much more than air, food, a suitable environment to live in, a chance to metamorphose and opportunities to mate.
A meerkat needs all that, plus a social group to belong to in which the individual has a distinct role and status, affection, comeradeship and security.
A monkey needs all of that, plus mental stimulation - puzzles, play, surprises and challenges.
A human needs even a little bit more.
https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-ma ... ds-4136760

Of the latter there are the ones you will need sometimes (health care) and those you might need sometime (auto insurance).

Those are societal needs, entirely dependent on the conditions and requirements of the society in which an individual lives. The first peoples had neither and managed okay - by their standards, not ours. We manage okay by our standards - not theirs.