Fundamental human needs

Living beings as adaptive information processing systems

From an information theory perspective, a living being is something that extracts information from its environment, preserves and processes that information, and then transmits that information to subsequent generations. The simplest forms of life extract information in the form of available nutrients which enable them to survive and reproduce. The characteristics of the organisms that have evolved to thrive in a particular environmental niche, tells you something about the past and present characteristics of that environment. Information is transmitted.  

The needs of adaptive information processing systems

An information processing system requires, as a minimum: 

1. a viable transmission medium through which the information can propagate, 

2. an input process through which information is extracted from the environment or received from other individuals, 

3. an encoding process which converts information into a format that can be stored and transmitted through the medium, 

4. an output process which facilitates the transmission of information from one individual to another, so that information can be preserved beyond the death of the individual. 

Each of these requirements indicates a different type of need. These needs are inter-related and inter-dependent. Sound cannot travel in a vacuum and a broken cable cannot transmit an electrical signal. An information channel cannot function at all if the transmission medium is absent or severed. In addition, information cannot be transmitted if it has not first been encoded. It cannot be encoded if it has not been accessed. Remove any one function before it has served its purpose and the entire information channel fails. 

No real-world system transmits information perfectly and information may become corrupted through noise or interference. As a result, a further requirement for the effective functioning of an information channel is some form of filtering or feedback process for reducing the risk of transmitting corrupted or incorrect information. Filtering may occur at a number of different stages during the transmission process: during input, when only certain types of information are sought from the environment; during encoding, when only some information is allowed into the information channel; and during output, when only selected information is passed between transmitter and receiver. 

In deriving the filtering needs for humans we will also have to take into account the role of humans as both transmitters and receivers of information. As a result of this, a minimum requirement is to identify one input-oriented filter and one output-oriented filter need.

In addition to these core functions, other mechanisms may develop that serve to enhance the quantity (bandwidth) and quality (integrity) of data that can flow through an information channel. As there is no theoretical limit to the number of enhancement mechanisms which could develop, there could be a vast number of related requirements, each of which may generate related enhancement needs. However, because these mechanisms are not essential to the basic functioning of the information channels, they could be considered as wants rather than needs unless they are co-opted into operational mechanisms for subsequent information channels. 

What types of information do humans transmit?

Human beings can transmit three types of information patterns intergenerationally:

• Genetic/epigenetic patterns - through sexual reproduction

• Behavioural patterns - through observation and mimicry 

• Symbolic patterns - through conceptual symbols and language

Each of these three types of information use different information processing channels which give rise to three different sets of medium, input, encoding, output, input-filtering and output-filtering needs.

Another distinction between the information channels is the relationship groups that they can apply to. Transmission in the genetic channel can only happen within kinship groups sharing the same genetic material. The development of subsequent channels opens up the possibility of information transmission within different groups. The behavioural channel applies to both kinship groups and proximity groups (unrelated neighbours) as imitation can only happen if the receiver is in a position to observe the transmitter. The symbolic information channel allows transmission of information between any individuals who share the same symbolic lexicon. Thus, with the development of various forms of communication technology, this channel permits information transmission within a widely distributed cultural group. The social context (salient relationship group) in which these needs are activated is likely to influence the extent to which need fulfilment is pursued with competitive (dominance) or cooperative (pro-social) approaches. The approach taken will also be influenced by the availability of resources and the prevalence of threats in the environment. Thus the articulation of needs linked to the information channels should not be biased towards one approach or the other but should allow for both, depending on context.

It is proposed that these information channels developed in the order genetic, behavioural and symbolic over humanity's evolutionary history. Subsequent information channels emerged as a result of the exaptation of evolutionary developments that originally served as enhancements to previously evolved channels.

Uniquely human needs

Other needs frameworks have been developed using an evolutionary perspective. However, if they start from the position of seeing human beings as merely the transmitters of genetic information or behavioural information, then they will stop when the needs associated with those information channels are identified. As a result, they are unlikely to capture needs that are distinctly human. Instead, the resulting needs frameworks could equally well apply to any social mammalian species. Some would argue that what differentiates humans from their nearest evolutionary relatives is merely a matter of scale (bigger brain with more connections, more complex versions of the same behaviours). However, this assumes gradual linear continuity in evolutionary processes. Complex systems, however, sometimes exhibit non-linear phase shifts. where small changes produce completely new states or emergent patterns because of the complex interactions between the elements of the system. 

Various characteristics that differentiate humans from other organisms have been proposed (such as theory of mind, analogous thinking, complex collaborative activity, etc.). However, many of these characteristics do occur to a lesser extent in other species. One characteristic which  seems to be restricted to humans is the ability to learn from and teach through instruction rather than just observation and mimicry. This has led to (and become dependent on) the development of complex language, symbolic representation and abstract conceptualisation. All of these lie within the symbolic information channel.

Next: Genetic information channel