MOTIVATION BY THE SPIRITUAL NEEDS OR 'METANEEDS': 'METAMOTIVATION'

theme: 'Metamotivation' is motivation by the needs for psychological or spiritual growth i.e. the spiriritual needs or 'metaneeds'. The metaneeds are the 'growth needs' of the value-life. They represent an intrinsic part of the human personality or 'human nature'.  

"The value-life - spiritual, religious, philosophical - is an aspect of human biology and is on the same continuum with the 'lower' animal life, rather than being in separated, dichotomized, or mutually exclusive realms. It is probably therefore species-wide, supracultural even though it must be actualized by culture in order to exist." (Abraham Maslow)

human nature...    the human organism as a social organism...     human nature as the 'mature mind'...

human needs...     basic psychological needs or 'ego needs'...  higher psychological needs or 'metaneeds...

               development of conscience for adaptability...

               biological basis of metamotivation: 'subjective biology'...

               perception of reality at the transpersonal level of personality development...

theory of 'metamotivation' of Abraham Maslow... 

            implications for education...

The human organism is a social organism which depends for survival on social intelligence. The human organism is a social organism with a range of instinctive human motives or 'human needs'. Human needs are psychological and spiritual as well as physiological. The physiological needs are those needs which are related to physical growth. Psychological needs are those needs related to psychological growth. They include the 'lower' needs for self-esteem i.e. the 'ego needs' and the 'higher' needs for spiritual growth i.e. the growth needs or 'spiritual needs'. The spiritual needs are related to spiritual growth and transcendance of the ego or 'ego-transcendance'. The lower and higher psychological needs are interrelated. Human needs must be fulfilled for proper growth and development to full human awareness or 'humanness'. The fulfillment of psychological needs is a part of the healthy psychological development required for successful adaptation to changing social conditions i.e. 'social intelligence'.

Social intelligence is a function of fully expanded awareness of the growth needs of the value-life... 'social values' of 'humanness' i.e. mature growth or 'self-actualisation'.   

 'Basic' or 'lower' psychological needs: 'security needs' for belongingness and self-esteem or 'ego' i.e. 'ego needs'. The basic psychological needs are the needs for security, belongingness and self-esteem. The most prepotent is the need for freedom from fear and anxiety - the need for safety or 'security'. Security needs include the need to admire an ideal and to strive for perfection. Security is communicated through loving care and a sense of 'belongingness'... parental love i.e. spiritual or 'unconditional love'. Unconditional love communicates the security, approval, respect, esteem and sense of belongingness... basic to faith in the persistence of the self, respect and approval of one's identity and expectations of oneself i.e. 'self-respect' or 'self-esteem' - the 'ego needs'.

Fulfillment of the ego needs establishes a natural condition of self-identity or 'healthy ego' which is required for  normal psychological growth.

'Higher' psychological needs are the spiritual needs or 'metaneeds' of moral consciousness or 'conscience' The 'higher' spiritual needs ('higher' because they are related to consciousness) are motivations for spiritual growth and ego-transcendance. The spiritual needs are also known as 'growth motivations' or 'metaneeds' - from the Greek word 'meta' meaning 'of a higher order'.. They are the same intellectual, moral and 'ethical' needs taught by religions and philosophies. They are related to the values of truth, goodness, perfection, justice, simplicity, love, compassion and so on. Also known as 'Being-Values', each of the metaneeds represents a different facet of the wholeness of Being. Each can be defined in terms of the others.

 The metaneeds are the growth needs of natural values of moral consciousness or 'conscience'.

Function of the rational conscience is protection of personal integrity required for adaptation to changing social conditions i.e. 'adaptability'  Survival of the human organism as a social organism depends on the  ability to adapt to the complexities of changing social conditions i.e. social adaptation or 'adaptability'. Human adaptability depends on the capacity to make connections between learning and life experience and this involves intuition of rational conscience. Conscience is the biologically based cognitive system which evolved through natural selection as the 'moral faculty' of human intelligence. The conscience is the core of guiding values or 'social values' which have been sought by theologians and philosophers throughout human history i.e. 'human values'. Human values are values of the highest consciousness state of 'self-transcendance'. In the 'transcendental realm of consciousness' the individual is aware of the rational valuing process of  conscience - an emergent property of the brain. Developed conscience is the source of human morals or 'virtues' -  goodness,  beauty, justice, spiritual love, joy, 'truth' and so on. As the source of virtues, the conscience is the human 'spiritual equipment' with which the organism depends for adaptability to the complexities of changing social conditions i.e 'social intelligence'. Social intelligence is a function of moral 'intuition' - intuitive intelligence or 'creative intelligence'. Creative intelligence is based on awareness of the nature of the human personality or 'human nature' defined in terms of human needs. Individual awareness of human nature or 'self-knowledge' is required for accurate evaluation of the social environment and subsequent adaptation.

Construction of rational conscience depends on motivation by the metaneeds or 'metamotivation'.

  "In A Theory of Metamotivation: The Biological Rooting of the Value-Life Abraham Maslow lays out a number of hypotheses about the nature and experience of self-actualizers and self-transcenders. He first describes the hierarchy of needs and suggests that higher needs (metaneeds, being-Values or B-values) for truth, beauty, transcendence, etc. are just as biologically based as are the lower, more obviously physiological ones such as thirst and sex. Further, he proposes that the failure to satisfy metaneeds may result in corresponding forms of pathology (metapathology) analagous to those resulting from unsatisfied lower needs. Thus he concludes that transcendant, religious, esthetic, and philosophical facets of life are as real and intrinsic to human nature as any biological needs". (Walsh 121)
 

Biological basis of metamotivation... 'subjective biology' Metamotivation is the human capacity for experiential richness... motivation by the metaneeds of developed conscience. The human conscience is an 'emergent property' of the maker of meaning or 'brain'. As a property of brain functioning, the human conscience or 'soul' is intrinsic to the nature of the human personality... 'human psychology' or 'human nature'...  therefore biologically based and  instinctive to the human organism. Human nature can be defined in terms of the biologically based metaneeeds. With metamotivation human obligations of love, truth, justice and beauty become its pleasures. What is 'good' for the individual is also good for the society. Motivation by the basic psychological needs (love and affection as communication of security necessary for growth) are obviously instinctive to human nature and are therefore included in the rubric of 'subjective biology.' Subjective biology must also include growth motivation or metamotivaton.

Since metamotivation is an intrinsic part of human nature, then the techniques of so-called subjective biology (contemplation or 'meditation') apply to human education.

Objective perception of human nature incorporates biological basis of metaneeds The objective perception of human nature is the same which is sought by philosophers, scientists, artists and spiritual leaders. The religious or 'mystic' experience of ego-transcendance involves the total acceptance of human nature and incorporates the concepts of 'transcendance of death' or 'immortality' in which the individual communicates with the spiritual aspect of their nature without recourse to a 'supernatural'. The experience of communion is the experience of ego-transcendance which makes it possible to live in the transcendant realm of Being-Values in which the individual can experience joy and happiness. In this way the functions of religious experiences can be explained by the biological basis of the metaneeds. The metaneeds can be adored, revered and celebrated and they can also be sacrificed just like the eternal values of religions. This wholistic perspective of human nature makes it possible to transcend dichotomies of human nature. Dichotomies imply mutual exclusiveness. Notions such as the 'forces of good' and 'the forces of evil' imply that good and evil are mutually exclusive. At the level of ego-transcendance, the mutual exclusiveness disappears.

An individual's level of awareness and perception of reality is determined by the level of consciousness which they have reached in their personal growth and evelopment... 'sociocognitive stage'.

Perception of reality at the transpersonal level of personality development... 'holistic perception'...  The metamotivation by the metaneeds produces a perception of reality at the highest level of consciouness - the transpersonal level of ego-transcendance. At the transpersonal level of personality development, the individual's perception of reality is free of the distorting effects of fear, envy and malice. This is the 'ultimate reality' which is described in terms of the ultimate values of being - the 'Being-Values' which satisfy the human longing for certainty - 'true', 'good', 'just', 'beautiful' and so on. Being-Values are identical with 'Being-Facts' concerning the nature of the universe, the nature of life and the nature of human nature.

It is easy to lose sight of the metaneeds in a social environment which does not approve of human nature.

Deprivation of psychological needs leads to dehumanisation Prerequisite to the 'metamotivation' for gratification of the 'metaneeds' or 'growth motivations... Metamotivation is inhibited when social forces in the environment are focused on physiological or basic psychological needs. Deprivation of the basic psychological needs - parental love and affection and the security which it communicates ... self-esteem or 'ego needs' - leads to psychological illness i.e. 'psychosis'. The prepotent more urgent basic psychological needs can be called 'deficiency needs' and motivation by the deficiency needs is  'deficiency motivation' or 'deficit motivation'. As a result of deficit motivation, the individual lacks the self-respect, self-discipline, self-directedness, sense of belongingness and sense of purpose and worthiness which are the basis for motivation by the metaneeds for spiritual growth. Feelings towards them become ambivalent. They are inspiring but frightening at the same time. The individual responds to them with reactions of internal repression and denial. These reaction responses inhibit metamotivation for spiritual growth and the individual is deprived of the opportunity to satisfy the metaneeds. Deprivation of the metaneeds leads to 'metapathologies' of value-starvation, psychological incapacitation, social incompetence and dehumanisation.

In the attempt to adapt to changing social environments the dehumanised individual is motivated by the deficiency needs and engages in immoral and destructive behaviour i.e. 'evil'.  

 So-called 'laziness' is really a question of not caring... lack of motivation.

Implications for education  Metamotivation as the human capacity for experiential richness is 'teachable' in the sense that it is enhanced in a social environment which recognizes the social nature of human nature. The individual's capacity for metamotivation can be fostered through the acknowledgement, encouragement and enforcement of the individual's instinctive yearning for love, truth, beauty etc... the education of the spiritual needs or 'metaneeds'. A social environment which respects the biologically based metaneeds fosters mature growth or 'self-actualisation'. Self-actualised individuals have self-respect, self-discipline, self-directedness and a sense of purpose and worthiness - characteristics of metamotivation for spiritual growth. It is possible to design an educational program based on the respect for metaneeds and the cultivation of metamotivation rather than sacrificing them in favor of the ego-needs and deficiency motivation i.e. 'holistic education'.

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References:

Abraham Maslow "A Theory of Metamotivation: The Biological Rooting of the Value-Life" in Walsh, Beyond Ego: Transpersonal Dimensions of Human Nature

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notes:

Biological basis of so-called 'higher values' Abraham Maslow studied the nature and experience of self-actualizers and self-transcenders... describes the hierarchy of needs... higher needs (metaneeds, B for Being-Values) for truth, beauty, transcendence, etc. are just as biologically based as the more obviously physiological so-called 'lower' needs such as hunger and thirst. The failure to satisfy metaneeds may result in corresponding forms of pathology - metapathology - analagous to those resulting from unsatisfied lower needs.

. The transcendant, religious, esthetic, and philosophical facets of life are as real and intrinsic to human nature as any other biological needs. (Walsh 121)

Human nature is the 'mature mind' The basic psychological needs for love and affection, self-respect, self-esteem and belongingness have a biological basis. Mature individuals whose basic psychological needs are gratified, have self-respect, self-discipline, self-directedness, sense of purpose and worthiness, are referred to as 'self-actualizing' individuals. They then become motivated by the 'metaneds' of the value-life. Motivation by the metaneeds is referred to as 'metamotivation'.

In a cultural environment which focuses on the basic physiological and psychological needs, metamotivation is inhibited by forces external to the individual who is thus deprived of the means for gratification of the metaneeds. As a result of the individual's ambivalent feelings towards the the instinctive metaneeds which can be both attractive and frightening, internal repression, denial and reaction responses can inhibit metamotivation.

Requisite to the metamotivation for gratification of the metaneeds or growth motivations, the prepotent more urgent basic psychological needs can be called 'deficiency needs'.

 Obviously instinctive in nature, the basic physiological and psychological needs come under the rubric of 'subjective biology.' The similarly biologically based 'metaneeds' come under the same rubric although they are less urgent and weaker than the basic psychological needs. Consequently the education of the spiritual needs, the 'metaneeds,' can be fostered through the acknowledgement, encouragement and enforcement of the individual's instinctive yearning for truth, beauty etc., the individual's capacity for 'metamotivation.'

"The metaneeds are equally potent among themselves, on the average i.e. I cannot detect a generalized hierarchy or prepotency. But in any given individual, they may be and often are hierarchically arranged according to idiosyncratic talents and constitutional differences."

The metaneeds are also known as 'Being-values' or 'B'values'. They are related to the spiritual values of truth, goodness, perfection, justice, simplicity, lawfulness, dichotomy transcendance etc. Each one can be fully defined in terms of all the others. Thus they appear to represent different facets of a unified and composite whole. The 'metaneeds' along with the basic psychological needs are all biologically based. They are all components of our biological life. Consequently the spiritual or value- life of the human organism is natural and fact-based, legitimately qualified for scientific analysis. Necessitating a cultural environment for their actualization, the metaneeds and metamotivation can easily be lost in a culture which does not approve of human nature. A cultural environment which respects the human organism's basic psychological needs fosters the individual's growth toward self-actualization. A cultural environment which respects the human organism's instinctive metaneeds as well as basic psychological needs, fosters the individuals's metamotivation towards full human awareness or humanness. This notion lends itself to the potential transcendance of unnecessary dichotomies such as good and evil. Rather than belonging to a domain external to human nature, spiritual values and the value-life are components of the biological basis of human nature.

 Metamotivation and the gratification of the metaneeds for the B-values of the value life are the source of the highest pleasures, metapeasure which can also be called metahedonism. At this level metamotivation becomes the same for both the highest pleasures and the highest obligations to truth, justice, beauty etc. At the level of metamotivation there is no longer a dichotomy between selfishness and unselfishness. The mutual exclusiveness disappears. Gratification of the metaneed of unselfishness is the source of the highest selfish metapleasure. With metamotivation, what is good for the individual (selfish) is good for others (unselfish)... hence the disappearance of the mutual exclusiveness implied in such a dichotomy.

Thus 'metamotivation' or motivation for the gratification of the 'metaneeds' of 'humanness' is biologically based and instinctive. In a cultural environment which focuses on the basic physiological and psychological needs, 'metamotivation' is inhibited by forces external to the individual who is thus deprived of the means for gratification of the 'metaneeds.' As a result of the individual's ambivalent feelings towards the instinctive 'metaneeds' which can be both attractive and frightening, internal repression, denial and reaction responses can inhibit 'metamotivation.'

The 'metaneeds' along with the basic psychological needs are all biologically based. They are all components of our biological life. Consequently the spiritual or value- life of the human organism is natural and fact-based, legitimately qualified for scientific analysis. Necessitating a cultural environment for their actualization, the metaneeds and metamotivation can easily be lost in a culture which does not approve of human nature. A cultural environment which respects the human organism's basic psychological needs fosters the individual's growth toward self-actualization. A cultural environment which respects the human organism's instinctive metaneeds as well as basic psychological needs, fosters the individuals's metamotivation towards full human awareness or humanness. This notion lends itself to the potential transcendance of unnecessary dichotomies such as good and evil. Rather than belonging to a domain external to human nature, spiritual values and the value-life are components of the biological basis of human nature. Metamotivation and the gratificatioo n o the emtanedds for the B-values or valuelife are the owurce of the highest pleasures, metapleasure which can also be called metahedonism. At this level metamotivation becomes the same for both the highest pleasures and the highest obligations to truth, justice, beauty etc. At the level of metamotivation there is no longer a dichotomy between selfishness and unselfishness. Gratification of the metaneed of unselfishness is the source of the highest selfish metapleasure. The mutual exclusiveness disappears. With metamotivation, what is good for the individual (selfish) is good for others (unselfish) Hence the disappearance of the mutual exclusiveness implied in such a dichotomy.  Obviously instinctive in nature, the basic physiological and psychological needs come under the rubric of 'subjective biology.' The similarly biologically based 'metaneeds' come under the same rubric although they are less urgent and weaker than the basic psychological needs. Consequently the education of the spiritual needs, the 'metaneeds,' can be fostered through the acknowledgement, encouragement and enforcement of the individual's instinctive yearning for truth, beauty etc., the individual's capacity for 'metamotivation.'

The B-values are defined as truth, goodness, justice, beauty etc. The metamotivation which arises from the biological metanededs for the values-life, B-values, Being-values, spiritual values, determines the individual's perception of 'ultimate reality' at the 'highest' levels of consciousness. In other words at the highest levels of personality and cultural development, a reality is perceived which is independent of distorted human perceptions. This is the 'ultimate reality' which is described in terms of the B-values.

 The reality is described as true, good, just, beautiful etc. Thus in the context of 'ultimate reality' the B-values become identical with B-facts. In the transcendental realm of consciousness, facts and values fuse and the words used to describe them are called 'fusion-words'. Contemplating the nature of the universe becomes equated with contemplating the ultimate values, the B-values.

The aim of philosophers, scientists, artists, and spiritual leaders is to achieve the same objective perception of 'ultimate reality, a perception which is devoid of any contaminating effects of the observer's fears, wishes, calculations etc. The mystic of 'peak' experience involves the individual's total acceptance of his biological nature and his part in natural evolution.

Without having to resort to the 'supernatural,' the individual's "communion with what transcends him" becomes a biological experience which makes it easily possible for the him to live in the realm of the 'B-Values.' The 'B-Values' "could conceivably satisfy the human longing for certainty." Like the eternal values of religions, they can be adored, revered, celebrated and sacrificed. The total acceptance of the human organism's biological nature becomes fused with the concept of 'transcendance of death' and 'immortality.' The greatest joy and happiness can be experienced in the contemplation of the 'B-Values.' Furthermore, it is proposed that the theoretical structure for the biological basis of 'metamotivation' and the 'metaneeds' of the value-life can assimilate all the functions of organized religions and religious experiences.

The individual's capacities for experiential richness should be 'teachable.' It should be possible to design an educational program around the instinctive needs of 'subjective biology', the 'metaneeds' as well as the physiological and psychological basic needs.

 references:   Walsh, Roger M.D. Ph.D and Frances Vaughan Ph.D.(eds) Beyond Ego: Transpersonal Dimensions in Psychology  J.P. Tarcher, Inc. Los Angeles l980

Theory of 'metamotivation' of Abraham Maslow...  A Theory of Metamotivation: The Biological Rooting of the Value-Life

 The 'metamotivation' by the 'metaneeds' of the value-life is an intrinsic part of human nature and must therefore be included in a full definition of the human organism, the person and the individual. The biologically based basic psychological needs are instinctive. They must be gratified for a person to become more mature, more 'human' and 'self-actualized.' Gratifications of these instinctive basic needs are necessary for the avoidance of dehumanization as well as the avoidance of mental and physical illness. It appears that the 'metaneeds' of the value-life, spiritual, ethical and moral values, are also instinctive and have a biological basis. Gratifications of the instinctive 'metaneeds' are necessary for the prevention of 'illness' or 'metapathology,' best defined as 'diminutions of humanness.'

 Thus metamotivation or 'motivation for the gratification of the 'metaneeds' of 'humanness' is biologically based and instinctive.

 The person's intellectual and spiritual needs, like the basic needs, have a biological basis. The 'basic needs' of hunger and thirst are physiological needs for the physical survival
of the human organism. The 'basic needs' for reproduction are physiological needs for the survival of the human species. For the human species, 'homo sapiens' the intelligent animal, the basic psychological needs are for parental love and affection, for self-respect and self-esteem and for a sense of belongingness. The so-called 'higher needs' for transcendance, religion, esthetics and philosophy, are intrinsic to every human organism and therefore must have a biological basis. Consisting of mental components, 'the metaneeds' are psychological and related to consciousness, determining the human organism's perception and level of awareness. For the social human organism, they are basic needs for the successful adaptation to a social environment. The psychological development of the human organism presupposes the cultivation of positive 'healthy' mental components and the discouragement of negative 'unhealthy' ones. The degree of a person's mental health is determined by the balance of 'healthy' and 'unhealthy' psychological factors. The 'metaneeds' are associated with healthy psychological development which is the prerequisite to the person's full functioning as a socially intelligent being.
Abraham Maslow contends that the following thirteen theses related to the biologically based 'metaneeds' of the value-life are within the realm of science. Consequently he proposes that the theory of 'metamotivation' can be subjected to scientific investigation and verificaton.

l. "Self-actualizing individuals, (more matured, more fully human) by definition already gratified in their basic needs,are now motivated in other higher ways, to be called 'metamotivation.'" The basic psychological needs for love and affection, self-respect, self-esteem, and belongingness have a biological basis. Mature individuals whose basic psychological needs are gratified, have self-respect, self-discipline, self-directedness, a sense of purpose and worthiness, are referred to as 'self-actualizing' individuals. They then become motivated by the 'metaneeds' of the value-life. Motivation by the 'metaneeds' is referred to as 'metamotivation.'

2. "The full definition of the person or of human nature must then include intrinsic values, as part of human nature." The 'metamotivation' by the 'metaneeds' of the value-life is an intrinsic part of human nature and must therefore be included in a full definition of the human organism, the person and the individual.

3. "These intrinsic values are instinctoid in nature, i.e they are needed (a) to avoid illness and (b) to achieve fullest humanness or growth. The 'illness' resulting from deprivation of intrinsic values (meta-needs) we may call metapathologies. The 'highest' values, the spiritual life and the highest aspirations of mankind are therefore proper subjects for scientific study and research. They are in the world of nature."
The biologically based basic psychological needs are instinctive. They must be gratified for a person to become more mature, more 'human' and 'self-actualized.' Gratifications of these instinctive basic needs are necessary for the avoidance of dehumanization as well as the avoidance of mental and physical illness. It appears that the 'metaneeds' of the value-life, spiritual, ethical and moral values, are also instinctive and have a biological basis. Gratifications of the instinctive 'metaneeds' are necessary for the prevention of 'illness' or 'metapathology,' best defined as 'diminutions of humanness.' Thus 'metamotivation' or motivation for the gratification of the 'metaneeds' of 'humanness' is biologically based and instinctive.

4."Value-starvation and value-hunger come both from external deprivation and from our ambivalence and counter-values." In a cultural environment which focuses on the basic physiological and psychological needs, 'metamotivation' is inhibited by forces external to the individual who is thus deprived of the means for gratification of the 'metaneeds.' As a result of the individual's ambivalent feelings towards the instinctive 'metaneeds' which can be both attractive and frightening, internal repression, denial and reaction responses can inhibit 'metamotivation'.

5. "The hierarchy of basic needs is prepotent to the metaneeds." Requisite to the 'metamotivation' for gratification of the 'metaneeds' or 'growth motivations, the prepotent more urgent basic psychological needs can be called 'deficiency needs'.

6. "The metaneeds are equally potent among themselves, on the average-i.e. I cannot detect a generalized hierarchy of prepotency. But in any given individual, they may be and often are hierarchically arranged according to idiosyncratic talents and constitutional differences."

7. "It looks as if any intrinsic of B-Value is fully defined by most or all of the other B-values. Perhaps they form a unity of some sort, with each specific B-Value being simply the whole seen from another angle." The 'metaneeds' are also known as 'Being-values'or 'B-values.' They are related to the spiritual values of truth, goodness, perfection, justice, simplicity, lawfulness, dichotomy transcendance etc. Each one can be fully defined in terms of all the others. Thus they appear to represent different facets of a unified and composite whole.

8. "The value-life (spiritual, religious, philosophical, axiological etc.) is an aspect of human biology and is on the same continuum with the 'lower' animal life (rather than being in separated, dichotomized, or mutually exclusive realms). It is probably therefore species-wide, supracultural even though it must be actualized by culture in order to exist." The 'metaneeds' along with the basic psychological needs are all
biologically based. They are all components of our biological life. Consequently the spiritual or value-life of the human organism is natural and fact based, legitimately qualified for scientific analysis. Necessitating a cultural environment for their actualization, the 'metaneeds' and 'metamotivation' can easily be lost in a culture which does not approve of human nature. A cultural environment which respects the human organism's basic psychological needs fosters the individual's growth towards self-actualization. A cultural environment which respects the human organism's instinctive 'metaneeds' as well as basic psychological needs, fosters the individual's 'metamotivation' towards full human awareness or ' humanness.' This notion lends itself to the potential transcendence of unnecessary dichotomies such as good and evil. Rather than belonging to a domain external to human nature, spiritual values and the value-life are components of the biological basis of human nature.

9. "Pleasures and gratifications can be arranged in hierarchy of levels from lower to higher. So also can hedonistic theories be seen as ranging from lower to higher, i.e. metahedonism." 'Metamotivation' and the gratification of the 'metaneeds' for the 'B-Values' or value-life are the source of the highest pleasures, 'metapleasure' which can also be called 'metahedonism.' At this level 'metamotivation' becomes the same for both the highest pleasures and the highest obligations to truth, justice, beauty etc. At the level of 'metamotivation' there is there is no longer a dichotomy between selfishness and unselfishness. Gratification of the 'metaneed' of unelfishness is the source of the highest selfish 'metapleasure'. The mutual exclusivesness disappears. With 'metamotivation' what is 'good' for the individual (selfish) is good for others (unselfish). Hence the disappearance of the mutual exclusiveness implied in such a dichotomy.

l0. "Since the spiritual life is instinctoid, all the techniques of 'subjective biology' apply to its education." Obviously instinctive in nature, the basic physiological and psychological needs come under the rubric of 'subjective biology.' The similarly biologically based 'metaneeds' come under the same rubric although they are less urgent and weaker than the basic psychological needs. Consequently the education of the spiritual needs, the 'metaneeds,' can be fostered through the acknowledgement, encouragement and enforcement of the individual's instinctive yearning for truth, beauty etc., the individual's capacity for 'metamotivation.' The individual's capacities for experiential richness should be 'teachable.' It should be possible to design an educational program around the instinctive needs of 'subjective biology', the 'metaneeds' as well as the physiological and psychological basic needs.

ll. "But B-Values seem to be the same as B-facts. Reality then is ultimately fact-values or value-facts." The 'B-Values' are defined as truth, goodness, justice, beauty etc. The 'metamotivation' which arises from the biological 'metaneeds' for the value-life, 'B-values', 'Being-values', spiritual values, determines the individual's perception of 'ultimate reality' at the 'highest' levels of consciouness. In other words, at the highest levels of personality and cultural development, a reality is perceived which is independent of distorted human perceptions. This is the 'ultimate reality' which is described in terms of the 'B-Values'. The words which are used to describe the 'ultimate reality' are the same as those used to describe B-Values.' The reality is described as true, good, just, beautiful etc. Thus in the context of 'ultimate reality' the 'B-Values' become identical with 'B-facts.' In the transcendental realm of consciousness, facts and values fuse and the words used to describe them are called 'fusion-words'. Contemplating the nature of the universe becomes equated with contemplating the ultimate values, the B-values. The aim of philosophers, scientists, artists and spiritual leaders is to achieve the same objective perception of 'ultimate reality', a perception which is devoid of any contaminating effects of the observer's fears, wishes, calculations etc.

l2. "Not only is man part of nature, and it part of him, but also he must be at least minimally isomorphic with nature (similar to it) in order to be viable in it. It has evolved him. His communion with what transcends him therefore need not be defined as non-natural or supernatural. It may be seen as a 'biological' experience." The mystic or 'peak' experience of transcendance involves the individual's total acceptance of his biological nature and his part in natural evolution. Without having to resort to the 'supernatural,' the individual's "communion with what transcends him" becomes a biological experience which makes it easily possible for the him to live in the realm of the 'B-Values'.

l3. "Many of the ultimate religious functions are fulfilled by this theoretical structure." The 'B-Values' "could conceivably satisfy the human longing for certainty." Like the eternal values of religions, they can be adored, revered, celebrated and sacrificed. The total acceptance of the human organism's biological nature becomes fused with the concept of 'transcendance of death' and 'immortality.' The greatest joy and happiness can be experienced in the contemplation of the 'B-Values.' Furthermore, it is proposed that the theoretical structure for the biological basis of 'metamotivation' and the 'metaneeds' of the value-life can assimilate all the functions of organized religions and religious experiences.