Imagine a Beatify cup, designed to hold everything you ever wanted—flawless and indulgently seductive—but with one caveat: you can never fill it past a certain point. If you do, the whole glass empties itself right before your eyes, like magic. This was the brainchild of the Greek philosopher Pythagoras. You might remember him stressing you out in your school math class with the Pythagoras theorem, an ancient Babylonian /Egyptian theory that he ostensibly named after himself. Why would anyone create such a cup? He did so to embody a lesson against excess, integrating moral teaching into everyday life. In this simple design, I see the core of the human condition. I believe that everyone is built like the Pythagoras cup, except we are built with the mind-dominating desire to get that cup full. We labour and search the ends of the earth to find something or anything that fills the cup. We desperately need the cup full, for without that, we are truly empty.
The truth is, we all suffer from a condition so chronic that nothing in this world could ever cure it. Neither the height of human achievement nor the depths of unfathomable suffering can ever separate us from this condition. We all have some core needs, and as a result, adopt certain desires in the hope that they will meet these needs. In simple terms, we all have the same needs but our desires are the manifestation of these needs and it is where we differ. Our needs have remained primordial and unchanging since the first man, our means of achieving and meeting them(desires) have changed drastically and have come to dominate and define us as people. We like to pride ourselves on our individuality, yet the vast majority of the presuppositions that are the basis of our ideals and desires are the product of the society we are in.
I would start by examining what the core of all human needs are, then show you how society has helped us shape the desires we develop in pursuit of these ends. We would then explore the necessary yet futile role these desires play and, most importantly, highlight the foolhardiness of various pursuits. I would then conclude by exploring the idea that the archetypal demand of the human mind could be solved by just one simple thing. However, the simplicity of this is perplexing eluding to most.
What we Need
I believe that human needs can be split into four simple categories.
Self-Preservation: Physiological Needs, Safety, Predictability, and Resource Acquisition
Emotional security: significance (respect), happiness, and acceptance or connection (love)
Meaning: Through self-actualization, growth, and connection outside of self (to God or a shared humanity).
Excitement: Found through uncertainty, risk, sex, drugs, and creativity.
I would argue that absolutely everything we desire in our lives is driven by these basic needs; we just manifest them in different ways. Furthermore, for most of us, we are the least significant part of deciding what desire we pursue in the hopes of meeting these needs. Think about it: had you been born at a different time or in a different place, your desires in the hopes of meeting these needs? The need for excitement, meaning, and self-preservation that drives a 24-year-old Afghan to join the Mujahedeen is the same that drives a 24-year-old British parkour enthusiast to scale skyscrapers with no safety harness. These are the same needs that drove Steve Jobs to drop out of college, trip balls on acid in India, and start Apple Computers. The only difference is how their environments shaped their perceptions and taught them how to satisfy these needs.
Rather than give further examples, I would challenge you to identify something you desire in your life that doesn’t meet any or a combination of these 4 needs. If you can then please email I would be genuinely interested in exploring it together.
NB: It is important to note that seemingly contradictory desires can satisfy the needs they seem to contradict. Take gambling or armed robbery; on the surface, they don’t seem like self-preserving actions, but the desired result is money, which is a form of self-preservation. A more extreme example is suicide, where the individual is trying to self-preserve (from pain) by ending their life. I should add that some desires satisfy one need at the expense of another, here our hierarchy of priorities shapes our decisions. This too unfortunately is largely influenced by things outside of ourselves.
Subliminal illusions of Choice
Let us establish the notion that human desires and thus actions are largely driven by things outside of the conscious self. This position has been shared by psychoanalysts, philosophers, and religious teachers since the beginning of time. In lieu of a detailed explanation of their views, I have given the summary below so you can do your research.
Psychoanalysis | Philosophy | Religious Teaching | Notable Fields |
Sigmund Freud: Id, Ego and Super Ego | Frederich Nietzsche : Will to Power
| Buddhism: Anatta ( Non -self), Tanha (Desires) and Avija (Ignorance) | Behavioural Science. B.F. Skinner: Environmental stimuli |
Carl Jung: Collective unconscious | Arthur Schopenhauer: Human will | Christianity: The Adamic Nature, The Holy Spirit | Sociology. Pierre Bourdieu: Habitus
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| Islam:: Nafs ( the self), Jihad (Spiritual struggle )
| Psychology and Cognitive Science: Daniels Kahneman: Automatic and unconscious (System 1) rather than deliberate and conscious (System 2) |
Recent research in the field of neuroscience also supports this argument. Feel free to geek out on all these later, for now, get back to reading this article. For the sake of ensuring you don't get defensive depending on your beliefs, Please note it is irrelevant to my point what you believe the subliminal influences of human behaviours are. Bellow I explore the ideas of Sigmund Freud not because I agree with his argument nor do I feel it is holistic but as you would find out, his work was the foundation upon which the largest social experiment of recent history has been carried out to see how much of human behaviour is influenced.
Who's really in charge?
These needs are at the core of all human behaviour, often well-hidden, particularly deep in our subconscious, beyond our understanding. If the wealth of proponents for the subconscious influences of human behaviour mentioned in the page prior doesn’t necessarily convince you of its validity, then what if I told you that the largest social experiment in the field on what drives human behaviour is ongoing and you are a part of it?
Let’s start from the beginning. Sigmund Freud, who is described as the father of modern psychoanalysis, proposed a model of the human psyche, suggesting it is divided into three parts: the id (primitive desires), the ego (reality-oriented mediator) and the superego (conscience). He argued that there are several subconscious motivators for human behaviour and the role of symbolism and group psychology in shaping these. While I still maintain he later “lost his marbles” by projecting his incestuous desires on all of humanity, I respectfully acknowledge his genius on the aforementioned matter. Interestingly, so did his cousin, Edward Bernays. A short bio Edwards Bernays. He was a brilliant businessman with mercenary motives who ushered in everything we now call modern public relations. His book Propaganda was so seminal that outlined much of what is now considered common sense. Take, for example, using third-party opinions to influence behaviour, such as celebrities, influencers, or doctors and dentists (usually actors in white coats) in advertisements. Bernays built an empire on his uncle's work. He believed in understanding the unconscious desires and motivators of the public, using symbols and associations to evoke desired emotional responses. Bernays also developed these techniques of appealing to subconscious elements of the mind to guide the masses towards certain viewpoints coining the term “Manufacturing Consent”. Bernays' application of Freud's theories transformed advertising from informational to emotionally compelling reshaping marketing and public relations today.
Advertisers don't need to speak to our conscious minds with facts; they can speak directly to our base desires for self-preservation, meaning, emotional security, and excitement. This process bypasses the conscious mind and hijacks the minds of individuals. It is why most advertisements you see today rarely speak to the specs of their products or what they can do; instead, they appeal to an emotion, a feeling, or a desire. Apple tells you that by buying its product, you are part of something exciting and unique that brings you respect and admiration for your pair. I would argue that the best brand is the one whose success has become synonymous with some part of our base need, e.g., Coca-Cola: happiness (emotional security), Nike: being the best (self-actualization). How effective have these experiments been? Look around you and the people around you; how much of what you wear, own, drive, watch, use, and eat is the product of calm, calculated, and rational decision-making as opposed to the deliberately crafted narratives that appeal to us subconsciously, after which we justify and rationalise a decision that has already been made.
The amazing part is that we often believe we are making a choice and that we are rational decision-makers. I believe that the average adult is dogged by ideas and beliefs that he cannot defend when questioned about the presupposition upon which the belief is based. This whole system has been hijacked and exploited by institutions and individuals at an accelerated rate, for the simple fact that there are more lines of communication to the average person now than ever. We are plugged in. This ground of the intermingling between our basic human needs and how institutions and individuals convince us to fulfil these needs is the birthplace of desire.
Too Much is Never enough
The truth is that nothing created could ever satisfy our needs; not the achievements of any of the desires we have developed to fulfil this need. The greatest argument to support this assertion is the simple fact that now is the greatest time in all of human history to be alive. Not for every individual, but as a collective, we have never had it this good. The advancements in farming, health, security, and world peace are the best they have ever been. This is a statistical fact! The average person in the developed world today has a quality of life that rivals that of the Kings of England a mere 100 years ago. No, I am not referring to their ability to adjourn themselves with all sorts of trinkets and shiny stones; I mean the comforts of life, regular bathing, soft fabrics, running water, safe foods, and the availability of cures for illnesses. Despite all of this, we seem to be caught in mental health and addiction crises, meaning that despite our desires being met, we are seemingly unsatisfied.
At this juncture, I reaffirmed that there is no pleasure so immense, no goal so improbable that, when reached, can cause meaningful and lasting satisfaction for our needs. Pleasure and the joy we get from things and goals are ephemeral states of being that only momentarily separate us from the burning need within us. You might be quick to point out the Ludacris nature of my assertion; you might be right in saying that I have no idea what I am talking about, but let us run a thought experiment. You have just found a genie who has promised to grant you your heart desires.
I want you to think of what you desire most in this world—the most pleasurable thing. This cannot be a metaphysical desire but must be something in this world. You can have anything Power, fame, money, all of the above? For most people, it would be money. (The simple truth is that when the philosophers have had their say and the preachers have finished their sermons, we must all recognise that a man exists in this world primarily as an economic entity, and his relations to the outside world are by and large transactional.) The genie has promised to make you a billionaire in dollars tomorrow(or whatever you choose), but on the condition that once you go to sleep, you will never wake up. Would you take the deal? Most sane people would say no. This would imply that you value waking up every morning more than your ultimate desire. Why, then, do you not meet your now-established highest desire with the same joy and elation you would meet the second-most important thing to you?
I argue that it is simply because you have the pleasure of having received this great gift 365 times multiplied by how many years you have been alive. The very act of receiving this so often has led to the trivialization of its value; it is now a secondary concern to you. Can you think of a reason why this would not happen the thing you identified as the thing you want most desire? This would be proof of my point that no pleasure on earth means anything. It is, in fact, our desire that keeps us satisfied for now. Our awareness of our lack in a way keeps us satisfied in pursuit. It is what drives us.
How to fill the cup
So what, then, am I trying to say? Should we live a life without desire? Should we swear off the material world, food, and pleasure and go into a dark hole to mediate until we ascend to the next realm? You could; in fact, the monks who advocate for Sokushinbutsu would consider you a wise sage. I respectfully disagree. I believe that the human being was created (I simply don’t have enough faith to believe otherwise). If God created man, then why, in his infinite wisdom, would he have created this clear flaw? One argument might suggest it is the manufacturer's fault; after 6 long days of stressful creation, he was a little tired and forgot to add something to the mix.
I believe instead that he created us this way because of his purpose for all of us, which is quite simply to do his will. This insatiable need we all share is nothing but a side effect form a deviation from the manufacturer's guide. My suggestion is that the one place all our core needs can be satisfied is our relationship with the creator. It is out of the fullness of this satisfaction that we are set free to achieve the other physical manifestation of these needs through a new set of desires birth from our relationship with God. This is done not in the hope that it will satisfy our deep-seated needs, but in the hope that through these things we can achieve God's purpose and calling on our lives.
It is through our surrender to God that we shed ourselves of our desires, which, as we have established, are the route through which we meet our four basic needs. When we are rid of these desires, we can focus and grow in our relationship with God. This process helps shed light on the character and habits that we have developed to meet those desires. Many of which we now identify with. We shed old beliefs that we predicated on falsehoods told to us from a variety of sources. God help us understand who we are and what we were created for; we get to live in truth.
No one can know the true function of a thing as well as the creator. This is not to say you cannot use the thing quite well and profitably; far from it. Take, for example, some of the world's most prized grand pianos, worth millions of dollars. They are often kept in a humidity-controlled room with glass windows from which to peer at their beauty. Granted, they make beautiful art pieces, but the craftsmen who laboured to build these antiques designed them to produce millions of combinations of musical notes that transcend time and space and speak to the souls of listeners. A parallel can be drawn with our lives; just because it is being used "well" or "profitably" from our perception does not indicate it is serving out its purpose, which measures incomparably to that which the creator planned. Our relationship with God allows us to key in and understand that still-quite voice within all of us that gives direction.
When we start with God, he provides for all our basic needs. In the Bible, we learn of God's promises to provide and protect us (security), and in Him, we find purpose and meaning. He lays out how we should relate to others; in fact, 50% of the classic 10 commandments are about our relationship with others, which is the basis of emotional security. And finally, what could be more exciting than handing your life and will over to God and watching it unfold? What could be more exciting than living the truth because lies are the only thing that offers us a predictable end?
PS: I should add that the journey of following God is not a promise of a perfect life; where would the excitement be if it were? Instead, we can rest in the knowledge that beyond this body, which is doomed to perish regardless of what we do with it, our spirit and true selves will live on.
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