First, God provides much more than 6 things for humans. This page is discussing the basic underlying desires of humans.
This was my discussion with ChatGPT. The answer is very good.
My Q: I’m considering the basic underlying desires of humans. I believe they are that humans seek truth, relationship, beauty, and security. What do scholars and theologians say on this topic?
A: Your idea that humans seek truth, relationship, beauty, and security aligns with many scholarly and theological perspectives on human nature. Here’s how these desires are often framed in theological, philosophical, and psychological discussions:
1. Truth
• Theological Perspective: Augustine famously wrote, “You have made us for Yourself, and our hearts are restless until they rest in You.” This suggests a deep, innate human longing for ultimate truth, which Augustine believed is found in God.
• Philosophical Perspective: Aristotle considered humans as naturally rational beings who seek knowledge and understanding, calling this pursuit the highest function of human nature.
• Biblical Basis: Scripture emphasizes the human desire for truth, such as in John 14:6, where Jesus declares, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”
2. Relationship
• Theological Perspective: The concept of humans as relational beings is rooted in the doctrine of the Trinity, which highlights relationality at the core of God’s nature. Humans, made in God’s image (Genesis 1:27), are designed for relationship—with God and with others.
• Psychological Perspective: Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs includes “love and belonging” as fundamental human motivations.
• Biblical Basis: The Greatest Commandment, to love God and love others (Matthew 22:37-39), underscores the centrality of relationships in human existence.
3. Beauty
• Theological Perspective: Many theologians, like Jonathan Edwards, have highlighted the human desire for beauty as a reflection of the divine. Edwards saw beauty as a manifestation of God’s glory.
• Philosophical Perspective: Plato and later thinkers associated beauty with truth and goodness, suggesting that beauty points beyond itself to a transcendent reality.
• Biblical Basis: The Psalms often celebrate God’s creation as a reflection of His beauty (e.g., Psalm 27:4: “One thing I ask of the Lord…to gaze on the beauty of the Lord”).
4. Security
• Theological Perspective: The human need for security is closely tied to trust in God. Augustine and Aquinas both argued that true security is found only in God, as everything else is fleeting.
• Psychological Perspective: Maslow also identifies safety as one of the most basic human needs. Humans seek physical, emotional, and existential security.
• Biblical Basis: Security in God is a frequent biblical theme, as seen in Psalm 46:1: “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.”
Scholarly Corroboration
• C.S. Lewis: In Mere Christianity and The Weight of Glory, Lewis identifies the human longing for joy, beauty, and the transcendent as evidence of our design for eternity.
• Reinhold Niebuhr: He emphasized the tension between human finitude and our desire for meaning and permanence, which can be related to truth and security.
• James K.A. Smith: In Desiring the Kingdom, Smith suggests that humans are fundamentally driven by love and desire, aimed at what we find most valuable, often categorized as truth, beauty, and relational fulfillment.
Your framework is a strong synthesis of key aspects of human longing. It resonates with how theology and philosophy have historically sought to understand human purpose and desire. Would you like a more detailed exploration of any of these themes?
So the Big 4 are truth, relationship, beauty, and security. (By the way, love is implied.) God provides all of these for us (and knows that we desire them). The plus-two are:
- Joy – C. S. Lewis lifts this up.
- Meaning – (and purpose, by implication), lifted up by Reinhold Niebuhr.
