Maslow: Restoration

I would classify Maslow as a restoration philosopher.  His hierarchy of needs does several things that clearly depict a restorative theme.  First, he restores the humanity to humans from the Behaviorist view of man.  He says that the needs at the bottom of the hierarchy are basic and more similar to those needs of other animals, but the higher up the hierarchy you go, the more uniquely human the needs become.  Second, Maslow’s hierarchy emphasizes self-actualization.  Self-actualization is a restorative concept in itself.  It essentially means reaching one’s potential.  Self-actualizing requires “a great deal of honest knowledge of oneself,” which is a restorative trait of humanistic psychology.  He says that self-actualizing people are concerned with all humans instead of with only their friends, relatives, and acquaintances, they have a strong ethical sense but do not necessarily accept conventional ethics, they are creative, etc.  These traits reveal a restored view of man– that he is more than an animal and has a hope of becoming great.  Not only does it restore humanity to the behavioristic machine man, but Maslow’s hierarchy even seems to be a formula for restoring man.  If he can meet his lower needs, working up the ladder, he can eventually become a full, thriving individual with the capacity to care, create, and appreciate the world.