Needs And Wants Essay Samples

A human being needs to breathe, they do not need to breathe in toxic fumes and other hazardous materials that might be detrimental to their health, but they do. That is the definition of a want, a desire that lends itself to a particular need without being a necessity. A body needs food to function; it does not need junk food such as ice cream, candy, an overabundance of fried foods and other such sustenance to survive. In fact, the more one consumes of the wrong type of food the more likely it is that their needs will begin to increase as their health begins to decline. A need is defined as something a body cannot do without, whether it is physical, mental, emotional, or psychological. A want by definition is a desire that may or may not run contrary to the need to which it is related. In the human perspective, what we want is not always what we need.
Loren Clark, a graduate student at Grand Valley State University, adequately uses dualism to define the relationship between the two elements as she states that dualism is the system of thought in which only two independent variables are considered irreplaceable despite being complimentary or always in conflict with one another (Clark, 2015). This is as close to the most basic explanation as one could come, and strikes very close and very firmly to the truth of it. When it comes to most forces in this world one can usually not do without its opposite, but in this case, needs often will be set aside for wants, and vice versa. The difference in the latter explanation is the discipline required to recognize the importance of a need over a want.
Justification that labels wants as needs is far too easy and much too dangerous to fall into, as simply walking into a store can be the downfall of many. The discipline that is required to say “no” to oneself is a concept that many people either do not practice or do not know how to employ. Even those who do manage to accomplish such a feat are at times said to be punishing themselves, denying what are defined as the pleasures of life. There is nothing wrong with indulging a time or two, or even three in life, as to be human is to want, and to want is to eventually feel a need. But always there is the need for discipline, not merely the ability to say no, but to say no with adequate and firm reasoning.
Columnist Erin Huffstetler explains it very well when she states that there are four basic needs that must be met; a home, good health, sustenance, and clothing (Huffstetler, 2015). Anything beyond these needs is considered an extravagance, a want that might or might not be met at some point in the individual’s life. No one absolutely needs a designer shirt or pair of shoes to survive despite the melodramatic flair that some feel the necessity to provide. No one needs a mansion with more than thirty rooms to feel secure and safe. The exotic and expensive dishes that are the fare of the wealthy and over-indulgent are nice, but a touch more than is truly required to survive.
While it is impressive to be as fit and capable as a pro athlete it is still not a necessity to maintain a healthy life. In other words, the extremes that people place themselves within all too regularly are not needs in the most basic sense of the word. No one would die if they suddenly had to resort to living in a one-bedroom apartment versus an estate, and one would not simply keel over if they did not perform an hours-long workout every day to every other day.
The wants versus needs debate is one that has gone on for as long as humans have desired material and needed goods alike, meaning it has been alive and well since human beings first discovered their own place in this world. In ancient times it was a constant, a burgeoning force behind one conflict after another, and quite possibly a very good reason why wars of all types have been started. While some battles have indeed been over resources that are needed by either side, there have also been terrible, bloody conflicts that resulted in great losses for simple desire of an object, resource, or in some cases the affections of another. This is the true heart of the wants vs. needs debate, the ideal that it rests upon. What does one person possess that another wants?
Many define wants and needs in their own fashion, but speaking basically and in fundamentals the needs mentioned above are as simple as it gets. There are no other needs save those of the most biological, emotional, and psychological. Even the latter two are at times dispensable in favor of simple survival, as any organism will do most anything to simply take that next breath. Wants vs. needs is the most basic of arguments, and yet at times the most complicated.

Works Cited

Clark, Loren. “Definition of Want vs. Need.” Learning to Give, n.d. Web. 13 Feb. 2015
Huffstetler, Erin. “Wants vs. Needs: How to Distinguish Between the Two.” About Money,
About.com. Web. 13. Feb. 2015