Unit 13A - The Needs That Drive Us All
The Needs That Drive Us All
William Glasser
All living creatures are driven by the basic need to stay alive and reproduce so that the species will continue. As creatures have evolved from simple to complex, they have developed additional basic needs.... Humans not only need (1) to survive and reproduce, but also (2) to belong and love, (3) to gain power, (4) to be free and (5) to have fun. All five needs are built into our genetic structure as instructions for how we must attempt to live our lives. All are important and must be reasonably satisfied if we are to fulfill our biological destiny. I italicize the need for power because, unlike the other four needs that are shared to some extent by many higher animals, the way we continually struggle for power in every aspect of our lives seems uniquely human.
We are also born with no choice but to feel pain when a need is frustrated, and pleasure when it is satisfied. The quicker and more severe the frustration, the more pain we feel; the quicker and deeper the satisfaction, the more pleasure we experience.
Simple survival needs like hunger, thirst, and sexual desire are relatively clear-cut, and we quickly learn what particular discomfort is attached to the denial of these basic needs. When we attempt to satisfy the non-essential psychological needs, such as belonging, fun, freedom, and especially power, we run into more difficulty.
The need for power is particularly difficult to satisfy because in many cultures the mores of the culture condemn those who openly strive for it. Even politicians try to appear humble, emphasizing how much they wish to serve and how little they want to tell us what to do.
But regardless of cultural prejudices, power itself is neither good nor bad. In fact, if it were not for the need for power, our whole economy would crumble because almost all that is bought and sold, except for bare necessities, is for the sake of power.
When someone uses his power to help downtrodden people satisfy any of their needs, especially to get some power, this use of power is humane. But history records few examples of people like Martin Luther King, Jr., who used what power he had for the benefit of the powerless. Instead, history is full of tyrants who used their power to hurt people, and the reason that so many of us see power as bad is that so many people have been its victims. But even tyrants tend to talk about power as if it is bad. They preach the virtues of humility because the more people they can persuade to be humble, the more easily they can both preserve and add to the power that they have.
While it is easy to understand that people who strive for power may become dominant and have a better chance to survive, most of us have difficulty accepting that this need is written in our genes. As I have mentioned, culturally we have been taught by those in power to be humble. That their teachings have been largely accepted when what they advocate is so obviously self-serving is a tribute to how effective they have been in getting their message across. But also, because we want power so badly, we often support those who are stronger in the hope that they will share a little of what they have with us. And if they are wise, they do. Successful politicians are masters of this approach and the same expertise is not unknown in business, higher education and even religion.
If you look around in any society, you cannot fail to see the all-pervasive effect of this need. Families band together for power, but if they succeed in becoming very powerful, they tend in almost all cases to fight among themselves for the lion's share of what they have. Rather than go over what seems so obvious, just ask yourself one question: Who do you know is so completely satisfied with his life that he can go a week without complaining that someone has gotten in the way of what he wanted to do? Most of us cannot get through a day without complaint; to be satisfied with how others have treated us for a week would seem like an eternity.
We are intensely competitive. If we think that we have any chance at all to move beyond bare survival, we are almost all ambitious.
We worry about winning, our honor, our pride, our integrity, our desire to be heard, our need to be right, who recognizes us, whether we are achieving enough, whether we are rich enough, good looking, well-dressed, influential—the list is endless. We are easily jealous, and "stupid" people call us arrogant when all we are is competent. We worry about status, position and whether we have clout. We are constantly trying to avoid those who would coerce us, manipulate us or use us. That we have often been wronged and seek revenge is much on the minds of many of us. Among us, even the humble compete for who can be the humblest of all.
You can decide for yourself whether power is used more for good than for evil, but simply as a genetic need it has no morality. Our needs push us to strive for fulfillment; whether in our attempt to satisfy them we do right or wrong is up to each of us to decide. I am spending so much time explaining this need because it is by far, especially for young people, the most important drive. If students do not feel that they have any power in their academic classes, they will not work in school. The same could also be said for teachers. There is no greater work incentive than to be able to see that your effort has a power payoff.
Freedom, another basic need, is often in conflict with power. The more power you have, even if you use it for my benefit, the less freedom I have.
It seems that there has to be a counterforce to power; unbridled power would be destructive to the survival of the species. Therefore, almost everything said about power could also be reworded into the vocabulary of freedom. For example, we may be inherently competitive, but we want to be free to lose without losing too much. And as much as a child may love her parents, she also wants the freedom to branch out on her own. So you can see that freedom can be in conflict not only with power but also with belonging. For example, if you want me around too much, I claim you stifle me, but if you aren't constantly giving me attention, I may claim you don't love me.
Most people, after some thought, have no difficulty accepting that love, power and freedom are as basic as the need to survive. They might, however, question my claim that fun is a basic need. They wonder, do we really need to have fun, and what is it, anyway? It's hard to define, but we all know that fun is associated with laughter, play and entertainment. It's the part of the job that you don't have to do, but doing it may be the best part of the job. It is never serious, but it is often important: All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. It can be frivolous, but it doesn't have to be. It can be planned, but is much more likely to be spontaneous. It can balance a lot of misery, and it is like a catalyst that makes anything we do better and worth doing again and again.
Not only humans have fun. My observation is that all animals who can make choices as to what to do to fulfill their needs seem at times to have fun. The higher the animal, the more fun. Lower animals, whose behavior is essentially built-in and who do not have much ability to learn, are not involved with fun. If you want a fun pet, you would not choose a turtle.
My guess is that we will survive in direct proportion to how much we can learn. So, driven by the need for fun, we always have a powerful genetic incentive to keep trying to learn as much as we can. Without the relationship between fun and learning we would not learn nearly as much. I realize that we also learn for power, love and freedom, but to satisfy these often requires long-term dedication. It is the immediate fun of learning that keeps us going day by day, especially when we are young and have so much to learn.
Boredom is the opposite of fun. It always occurs when we have to spend time without learning: A monotonous task is always boring unless we can find a way to learn while doing something repetitive, or make the thing we are doing competitive or social, as Tom Sawyer did when he was painting the fence. A prisoner who is actively planning his escape finds his confinement much less oppressive. Anytime we can introduce power, freedom or belonging into a situation, we find it more interesting. And as we do, we also find ourselves learning along the way.
参考译文——推动我们所有人前进的需求
推动我们所有人前进的需求
威廉·格拉瑟
所有生物都被生存与繁衍这样的基本需求所驱使，因而生物物种得以不断延续。随着生物由简单到复杂的进化，他们同时也产生了其他的基本需求……人类不仅需要（1）生存和繁衍，同时还需要（2）归属与爱、（3）权力、（4）自由和（5）快乐。这五种需求已融入到了我们的基因结构中，并指导我们必须怎样试图过好自己的生活。这五种需求都很重要，如果我们要过完一生，这些需求就必须得到合理的满足。我将对权力的需求写成斜体，是因为其他四种需求是很多高等动物共有的，与之不同的是，在生活的方方面面对权力的不懈追求似乎是人类所特有的需求。
我们生来就没有选择的余地，当某种需求未被满足时，我们会感到痛苦；而当某一种需求得到满足时，我们就会感到快乐。挫折来得越快、越严重，就越觉得痛苦；满足感来得越快、越深切，我们就越快乐。
简单的生存需求，诸如饥饿、口渴和性欲是相对明确的，我们很快就能发现不满足其中的某种需求会带来怎样的不适。当我们试图去满足一些非基本的精神需求时，诸如归属感、乐趣、自由、特别是权力时，我们碰到了更多的麻烦。
对于权力的渴望尤其难以得到满足，因为在许多文化背景下，道德标准会谴责那些公开追逐权力的人。甚至政客们也会竭力装出谦卑的样子，强调他们是多么希望服务于人民，多么不想对人民发号施令。
但是如果抛开文化偏见，我们就会发现权力本身并无好坏之分。事实上，如果没有对权力的需求，我们的整个经济就会瘫痪，因为除了简单的生活必需品之外，我们所购买和销售的其他物品都是为权力而存在的。
当有人使用权力帮助受难的人满足他们的需求时，特别是帮他们获得一些权力的时候，这种权力的使用就是人道的。马丁·路德·金运用自己手中的权力帮助那些无权力的人们获得利益，但是历史上像马丁·路德·金这样的例子并不多见。与此相反，历史上到处都是运用手中的权力去伤害他人的独裁者。我们中的很多人之所以把权力看成是坏事就是因为有许多人都成为了权力的牺牲品。但即使是独裁者们也常常将权力说成是坏的。他们常常宣扬谦卑的美德，因为他们越是能够说服更多的人谦卑，就越容易维护并扩大自己的权力。
那些追逐权力的人可能成为主宰，会有更好的机会生存，这很容易理解，但我们大多数人还是很难接受这一事实——对权力的需求就存在于我们的基因当中。
正如我所说的，在文化上那些掌权的人已经向我们灌输了谦卑的美德。虽然他们宣扬的东西显然是为了满足他们自身的利益，但其学说已被大众广泛接受，这一事实证明了他们对自己观点的宣扬是多么有效。由于我们也迫切地需要权力，我们常常支持那些较强的人，希望他们会与我分享一点他们的权力。如果他们明智的话，他们会这样做。成功的政治家熟练地掌握了这一方法，在商界、高等教育界甚至是宗教界也不乏类似的伎俩。
如果你环顾周围，你就会发现，不管在哪个社会，这种需求造成的影响无处不在。皇族为争取权力而结合在一起，但是一旦他们成功了并变得有权势，家庭成员之间几乎毫无例外地会去争夺他们所拥有的最大份额。暂不去回顾那些看上去显而易见的事，先问你自己这样一个问题：你认识这样一个人吗？他对生活感到十分满意，能够在一个星期里都不抱怨有人阻碍他做他想做的事。大多数人没有一天不在抱怨：连续一个星期都对别人对待我们的方式感到满意，这似乎像永生一样不可能。
我们处在激烈的竞争状态下。如果我们认为自己有机会过更好的生活的话，那么我们都会变得雄心勃勃。
我们会为自己的成功、荣誉、自尊、品德而担心，担心别人是否听取我们的想法，自己的需求是否正当，有谁认可我们，是否取得足够多的成就，是否足够富有，长得是否好看，穿着是否得体，是否有影响力——这类问题举不胜举。我们很容易就嫉妒，当我们有能力时，“愚蠢的人”说我们狂妄自大。我们为自己的身份地位和影响力而担心。我们始终在躲避那些想要威胁、操纵、利用我们的人。我们常常受到不公正待遇，很多人在心中滋生报复的想法。在我们当中，即使是谦卑的人也会努力争取最谦卑的头衔。
你可以自主决定使用权力做更多好事还是坏事，但仅仅从权力是一种基因的需求这一点来讲，它本身并没有好坏之分。我们的需求驱使我们努力取得成就，在我们努力获得成就的过程中，我们所做的正确与否，取决于我们的个人选择。我之所以花大量时间来阐述这一需求，是因为在很大程度上，特别是对于年轻人来说，对于权力的渴望是最重要的驱动力。如果学生们在学业上没有感觉到这种渴望的话，他们不会在学校里学习。这个道理也同样适用于教师。能看到自己的努力得到权力形式的回报是最大的工作动力。
自由，作为另一项基本需求，常常与权力相冲突。即使你是为帮助我获得利益而使用权力，你的权力越大，我的自由就越少。
这样看来，必须有一种力量来约束权力；无限制的权力对物种的生存是极其不利的。因此，我们谈论权力所用的一切词汇都可以加以改动，用来谈论自由。例如，我们也许生来就好胜，但我们也希望能在不失去太多的情况下自由地失去什么。虽然一个孩子深爱她的父母，但同样也渴望自己能有独自生活的自由。因此从这一点你也可以看出自由不仅仅同权力相冲突，也同归属感相冲突。例如，如果你让我时时刻刻都围绕在你身旁，那么我就会说你让我窒息。但是如果你对我漠不关心，视而不见，我就会说你不爱我。
在经过思考之后，大部分的人都不难接受这种观点：爱、权力和自由正如生存一样都是基本需求。然而，他们可能质疑我所说的快乐是基本需求的说法。他们会想，我们真的需要快乐吗？那么，快乐到底是什么？快乐很难定义，但是我们都知道，快乐是同笑声、游戏、娱乐相伴的。寻找快乐不是你不得不做的一部分工作，但它会是工作中最好的那部分。寻找快乐永远不用太认真，但通常很重要：光学习不玩耍，聪明的孩子也变傻。快乐可能是无意义的，但也不一定如此。它可以是精心安排的，但更多是自发的。它可以消除痛苦，像催化剂一样，可以使我们所做的事情变得更好，值得一遍又一遍地去做。
不仅人类拥有快乐。据我观察，所有能够决定如何来实现自我意愿的动物，有时候也拥有快乐。越是高级的动物，得到的快乐就越多。对于低级动物来说，它们的行为基本上是固有的，没有太多的学习能力，也就与快乐没什么关联。如果你想要拥有一个有趣的宠物的话，你就不会选择乌龟。
我的推测是我们的生存能力跟我们的学习能力成正比。因此，在对快乐的需要的驱使下，我们总是有着强有力的内在动机，促使我们尽可能多地学习。如果学习和快乐之间没有关系的话，我们就不会获得这么多的知识。我发现我们也在为权力、爱和自由而学习，但是要满足这些需求常常需要长时间的忘我工作。正是学习所带来的直接乐趣让我们天天进步，尤其是当我们年轻时，当还有很多东西需要学习的时候。
无聊乏味是快乐的对立面。当我们消磨时间却学不到东西时，这种无聊感便会向我们袭来。单调的工作是很乏味的，除非当我们做这些重复的工作时，寻找到一种学习方法或者让我们所做的事情具有竞争性或社会意义，就像汤姆·索亚在给栅栏刷漆时所做的一样。一个积极策划越狱的囚犯会觉得监狱生活不那么难挨。任何时候只要我们把权力、自由或者归属感引入到某一环境，我们就会发现更多乐趣。当我们那样做时，也会发现我们同样是在学习。
Key Words:
psychological [.saikə'lɔdʒikəl]
adj. 心理(学)的
species ['spi:ʃiz]
n. （单复同）物种，种类
survival [sə'vaivəl]
n. 生存，幸存者
reproduce [.ri:prə'dju:s]
v. 再生，复制，生殖
denial [di'naiəl]
n. 否认，拒绝
complex ['kɔmpleks]
adj. 复杂的，复合的，合成的
n. 复合体
survive [sə'vaiv]
vt. 比 ... 活得长，幸免于难，艰难度过
satisfaction [.sætis'fækʃən]
n. 赔偿，满意，妥善处理，乐事，确信
discomfort [dis'kʌmfət]
n. 不便之处，不适 vt. 使不适
extent [iks'tent]
n. 广度，宽度，长度，大小，范围，范围，程度
crumble ['krʌmbl]
v. 崩溃，弄碎，减亡
preserve [pri'zə:v]
v. 保存，保留，维护
n. 蜜饯，禁猎区
survive [sə'vaiv]
vt. 比 ... 活得长，幸免于难，艰难度过
understand [.ʌndə'stænd]
vt. 理解，懂，听说，获悉，将 ... 理解为，认为<
persuade [pə'sweid]
vt. 说服，劝说
except [ik'sept]
vt. 除，除外
benefit ['benifit]
n. 利益，津贴，保险金，义卖，义演
strive [straiv]
vi. 奋斗，努力，力求
humility [hju:'militi]
n. 谦逊，谦虚，谦卑
humble ['hʌmbl]
adj. 卑下的，谦逊的，粗陋的
band [bænd]
n. 带，箍，波段
n. 队，一群，乐队
tend [tend]
v. 趋向，易于，照料，护理
survival [sə'vaivəl]
n. 生存，幸存者
advocate ['ædvəkeit,'ædvəkit]
n. 提倡者，拥护者，辩护者，律师
v. 主张
effective [i'fektiv]
adj. 有效的，有影响的
humble ['hʌmbl]
adj. 卑下的，谦逊的，粗陋的
ambitious [æm'biʃəs]
adj. 有雄心的，有抱负的，野心勃勃的
approach [ə'prəutʃ]
n. 接近; 途径，方法
v. 靠近，接近，动
expertise [.ekspə:'ti:z]
n. 专家的意见，专门技术
unknown ['ʌn'nəun]
adj. 未知的，不出名的
genetic [dʒi'netik]
adj. 基因的，遗传的，起源的
influential [.influ'enʃəl]
adj. 有权势的，有影响的
n. 有影响力的
conflict ['kɔnflikt]
n. 冲突，矛盾，斗争，战斗
vi. 冲突，争
integrity [in'tegriti]
n. 诚实，正直，完整，完善
compete [kəm'pi:t]
vi. 竞争，对抗，比赛
avoid [ə'vɔid]
vt. 避免，逃避
manipulate [mə'nipjuleit]
vt. 操纵，操作，控制，利用，(巧妙地)处理，篡改
competent ['kɔmpitənt]
adj. 有能力的，胜任的，足够的
academic [.ækə'demik]
adj. 学术的，学院的，理论的
revenge [ri'vendʒ]
n. 报仇，报复，复仇愿望，获得满足的机会
dull [dʌl]
adj. 呆滞的，迟钝的，无趣的，钝的，暗的
define [di'fain]
v. 定义，解释，限定，规定
competitive [kəm'petitiv]
adj. 竞争的，比赛的
spontaneous [spɔn'teiniəs]
adj. 自发的，自然产生的
stifle ['staifl]
v. 使不能呼吸，窒息，抑制
survive [sə'vaiv]
vt. 比 ... 活得长，幸免于难，艰难度过
entertainment [.entə'teinmənt]
n. 娱乐
conflict ['kɔnflikt]
n. 冲突，矛盾，斗争，战斗
vi. 冲突，争
claim [kleim]
n. 要求，要求权;主张，断言，声称;要求物
survive [sə'vaiv]
vt. 比 ... 活得长，幸免于难，艰难度过
boring ['bɔ:riŋ]
adj. 令人厌烦的
immediate [i'mi:djət]
adj. 立即的，即刻的，直接的，最接近的
fence [fens]
n. 栅栏，围墙，击剑术
n. 买卖赃物的人<
genetic [dʒi'netik]
adj. 基因的，遗传的，起源的
monotonous [mə'nɔtənəs]
adj. 单调的
essentially [i'senʃəli]
adv. 本质上，本来
observation [.ɔbzə'veiʃən]
n. 观察，观察力，评论
adj. 被设计用来
turtle ['tə:tl]
n. 海龟
social ['səuʃəl]
adj. 社会的，社交的
参考资料：
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