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How do you recognise the difference between a need and a desire? (mander.xyz)
submitted 1 year ago by to c/asklemmy@lemmy.world
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What signals do you look for? Do you decide based on reason or instinct?

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[–] [S] 3 points 1 year ago (3 children)

so i don't think you can just say something is a need, you need to decide what your goals are, probably with some hierarchy of goals, and work backwards from that to the needs. Or conversely, to know if something is a need, think about if not having it would keep you from your goal.

Hmm, sadly that results in a circular reasoning, no? How do you decide upon goals - which goals are important (needs) and which are folly (desire)? Should we simply trust Maslow got it right?

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  • [–] 5 points 1 year ago (2 children)

    I don't think it's circular reasoning. more like kicking the can down the road, instead of deciding needs, you need to decide goals. but once you have a goal it helps determining the needs. So it's a different framing that can help a bit to untangle the mess. Maslow is also just 4 goals in a hierarchy and then the needs for each of them.

    As for how to decide on goals, idk, that changes all the time and I don't think there's any hard set rule to figure that out. In the end it's all just made up 🤷 But I think asking yourself "what are my goals in life" is more productive than asking yourself "what do I need", at least it comes more naturally to me.

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  • [–] [S] 4 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    But I think asking yourself "what are my goals in life" is more productive than asking yourself "what do I need", at least it comes more naturally to me.

    I think I see what you mean. It's searching for a vision that makes intuitive sense, no?

    Also, thank you for explaining

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