The Farther Reaches of Human Nature

Published posthumously, this book is critical to understanding Maslow's concept of metaneeds, metavalues and metamotivations. He clearly outlines the need of self-actualizers to devote themselves to a cause greater than self. No surprise here, but in my judgment, what he would describe in "Religions, Values and Peak Experiences" as perhaps his "most important finding" has yet to be fully appreciated and understood. Dr. Maslow professes that the highest values, being values, or metavalues, are not grandiose platitudes but rather inner realities that are not made up but discovered. Moreover, metavalues are active agents that configure and inspire the motivations of self-actualizing personalities. Much as a contemporary fellow genius, Viktor Frankl, would observe, the True, the Beautiful and the Good are universal realities that are potential in all human beings. This finding flies in the face of Freud and Skinner, who insisted that human nature is virtually completely malleable by environment. Once Abraham Maslow's premise regarding values is entertained, the reader will discover the later sections of the book, especially the "Metamotivation" section, of supreme importance. When we understand and embrace Dr. Maslow's insights into supreme values, we will better understand his pronouncement that humankind has been sold short. Also see Malsow's "The Psychology of Science, a Reconnaissance."

I am often asked what I studied in my journey of self-discovery that led to my book, audio book and workshops, Managing Thought: How Do Your Thoughts Rule Your World?. I explain that many roads lead to Rome. On the psychological path, The Farther Reaches of Human Nature significantly influenced me. Maslow wondered why we study what we don't want, sickness, and instead studied what we do want, health. Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs and his teachings on self-actualization explain man's expansive nature and our genuine interest in expanding our level of consciousness and becoming fully human.

Overall this is a very good book, but with some significant flaws. The first 100 pages are unbelievably good; as I began reading this book I really felt like I had hit the jackpot, and I quickly concluded I would attempt to read all of Maslow's works. As I got further into the book I was singing quite a different tune. I believe anyone with any interest in psychology whatsoever should buy this book and read the first 100 pages. This section alone is easily worth the price of the book - don't let me scare you away from exploring the ideas of this great man. However, the dropoff in quality after this first section is rather precipitous, and while pages 100-200 were OK, the final 100 pages are an absolute chore to get through and I had to force myself along to finish the book.Keep in mind that Abraham Maslow died before he was able to make a final edit of this book, and it shows. The second half of the book is almost a verbatim repetition of the earlier sections, and Maslow tends to harp on the same concepts endlessly. Some of it comes across as a very generic self help book designed to be consumed by the masses. In other sections, he seems to start over right from square one, as if some of the essays were meant to stand alone and were not meant to follow other essays that were extremely similar. I would say nearly half of this book should have been relegated to an expanded appendix - but I guess it would be strange to have a book where full half of it consisted of an appendix. I'm sure that Maslow would have fixed these problems had he lived long enough, but we will just have to accept this book for what it is and try as best we can to extrapolate something useful from it.To conclude, I must still vehemently stress the importance of at least the first half of this book. If you grow bored with it, just stop reading. The editors of this book obviously elected to take a throw-it-all-against-the-wall-and-see-what-sticks approach, and I suppose there is no harm in that. Just remember that the original author was not around to oversee the final editing, and the result is a large dose of disjecta and detritus towards the end of the book. Nevertheless, do not let this minor disclaimer prevent you from exploring the wonderful ideas of this brilliant man.

i could not put down this book. the only vague idea i had from Maslow was the classic pyramid of needs, of which i did not think much. I could not have been more wrong! this book lifted the veil from my eyes, i just so thouroughly identify with the author's views. i wish i had read this book 10 years ago. Maslow is so honest, his style so fluid, his statements so powerful. this book is all about what it means to be human, and it gives faith again in human nature, yet we are facing so many hurdles in our world. while reading it on a train journey, i stopped for a second and looked thru the windows of the cabin. there i saw some clouds in the blue sky, and i felt tears coming up to my eyes. I felt like a follower who had just met his prophet...

....about the possibilities of becoming fully human. This was one of the books that inspired me to study psychology. An eminently sane look at the "higher reaches" from the psychologist who dared to wonder why we study sickness but not health.