Big Problem
An Avatar.Global Resource
Big Problem
In Maslow's framework, Big Problems refers to the fundamental, existential issues and challenges that humanity faces on a global scale. These are profound questions about life, meaning, values, and survival that go beyond individual concerns and touch on universal human dilemmas. Maslow felt that if humanity was to advance towards self-actualization and transcendence, they had to solve the big problems.[1] It is a phrase used by Maslow in his speculations and discussion of Human Potential.
Concept Map
Key Terms
- Eupsychian Education
- Eupsychian Management
- Eupsychian Psychology
- Eupsychian Theory
- Eupsychian Therapy
- Humanistic Psychology
- Transpersonal Psychology
- Human Diminution
- Diminished Human Being
- Big Problem
- Individual Potential
- Species Potential
- Actual Realization
- Human Flourishing
- Potential Realization
- Fully Functioning Person
Big Problems > Good Person, Good Society
Syncretic Terms
Related LP Terms
Big Problem > Alignment, Connection
Non-LP Related Terms
Notes
Some examples of "Big Problems" include:
Moral and Ethical Questions: Issues of justice, fairness, and the nature of good and evil are "Big Problems" for Maslow, as they drive individuals and societies to reflect on what it means to live ethically and to pursue a "good society."
Human Survival and Coexistence: Maslow considered problems like war, poverty, environmental degradation, and social inequality to be "Big Problems" that require collaborative, compassionate solutions to ensure survival and well-being on a global level.
Human Potential: Maslow believed that humanity as currently realized was sad and crippled, a shadow of their true potential. As he said
...we have to start seeing ourselves in a different light. This is what I mean by saying, “For centuries, human nature has been sold short.” For my theory is implying that in a certain sense, every newborn baby is a potential Plato. Every child has an instinctive need for the highest values of beauty, truth, justice, and so on. If we can accept this notion, then the key question isn’t “What fosters creativity? How was a Beethoven created?” But it is “Why in God s name isn’t everyone a Beethoven?” That is what has to be explained now. Where was the human potential lost? How was it crippled? We have got to abandon that sense of amazement in the face of creativity, as if it was a miracle if anybody created anything. [2]
Here a big problem is how to actuate full Human Potential. This involves identifying how human potential was lost and crippled and coming up with fixes (i.e., Eupsychian Therapy designed to move humanity forward.
Existential Questions: Questions about the meaning of life, death, and the human experience are examples of Big Problems that, Maslow believed, require introspection and a values-based approach.
Personal Growth and Fulfillment: On an individual level, Big Problems include challenges like finding one’s purpose, realizing one's potential, and achieving personal growth. Maslow saw these personal challenges as deeply linked to larger societal goals.
Maslow argued that facing these "Big Problems" is a path to self-actualization, as they push people to think beyond themselves, confront the unknown, and aspire to make meaningful contributions to the world. He believed that addressing Big Problems—both personally and collectively—was essential for the development of a healthy, thriving society.[3]
The Good Person and the Good Society
Maslow was particularly concerned with two big problems, namely how to make a Good Person and how to make a Good Society
"Therefore I would urge all biologists. as I would urge all other people of goodwill, to put their talents into the service of these two Big Problems."[4]
Abraham Maslow Index
- Aggridant
- B-Cognition
- B-Needs
- B-Realm
- B-Values
- Being-Guilt
- Big Problem
- D-Cognition
- D-Realm
- Deficiency Diseases
- Diminished Human Being
- Eupsychia
- Eupsychian Education
- Eupsychian Management
- Eupsychian Psychology
- Eupsychian Theory
- Eupsychian Therapy
- Good Chooser
- Good Person
- Good Science
- Good Society
- Good Specimen
- Growing-Tip Statistics
- Hierarchy of Basic Needs
- Hierarchy of Cognitive Needs
- Horticultural Model
- Human Diminution
- Human Motivation
- Human Potential
- Humanistic Psychology
- Inner Signals
- Intrinsic Conscience
- Jonah Complex
- Metapathology
- Motivation
- Normalcy
- Normative Biology
- Peak Experience
- Plateau Experience
- Real Self
- Sculptural Model
- Self-Actualization
- Transcending Self-Actualizers
- Transhumanistic
- Transpersonal Psychology
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Footnotes
- ↑ Maslow, A. H. The Farther Reaches of Human Nature New York: Viking, 1971. p. 5-6
- ↑ Maslow, Abraham H. “Higher Motivation and the New Psychology.” In Future Visions: The Unpublished Papers of Abraham Maslow, edited by Edward Hoffman. Sage Publications, 1996. p. 95.Italics added.
- ↑ Maslow, A. H. The Farther Reaches of Human Nature New York: Viking, 1971.
- ↑ Maslow, A. H. The Farther Reaches of Human Nature New York: Viking, 1971. p. 20.