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Definition
Human needs are commonly used to refer to the drivers of peoples’ actions, the motives behind human behavior. Other uses of the concept include needs as instruments to achieve a certain goal and needs as societal requirements to flourish or experience a good life (Gasper, 2004). Needs as motives imply that all human actions can be understood as originating in the quest for satisfying or actualizing needs. Needs as societal requirements concern what is necessary for people to avoid serious harm and participate in their society, whether or not they are mobilized by them. Needs as requirements to achieve a certain outcome like fulfillment, happiness, or satisfaction fall in between the two last explanations. They take the elements that contribute to achieving the goal of a good life (such as jobs, income, health care, status) as the requirements or needs for the realization of the goal. The distinction between these three sets of...
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Guillen-Royo, M. (2014). Human Needs. In: Michalos, A.C. (eds) Encyclopedia of Quality of Life and Well-Being Research. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-0753-5_1345
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