Define "Need"

Olivia

Hey! If you know of another conversation covering this topic please let me know! This is a question I have been pondering for some time. Can need exist without want? I've asked many people who aren't interested in philosophy what their definition of "need" (the verb form for the sake of simplicity) is and they usually end up with what is required for survival. But required in that definition is just a synonym for need isn't it? And is survival required if you don't want to survive? (Please note I am not endorsing suicide I'm just talking about hypotheticals here). Is there something that a person actually needs without wanting what that need provides? If the answer is no, then does "need" exist at all? Does that not just eliminate it and leave "want" behind? Feel free to bluntly point out the holes in my reasoning, I'm open to criticism!

tim wood

Need is for some reason, and with respect to that reason is the need. Absent the reason, no need. To want is an expression of desire. No desire, no want. Clearly these two can intersect.

You could set up an options "space":

1) Do you need or not need what you need?
2) Do you need or not need what you want?
3) Do you want or not want what you want?
4) Do you want or not want what you need?

And work through these, but it appears you're just thrown back to definitions.

PossibleAaran

Let's try defining "need" by starting with the notion of purpose. You only need X for some purpose or another. For instance, you need food, but you only need it for the purpose of staying alive. If you don't make surviving a goal of yours, there is no need for food. So what you need is always relative to your purposes.

Let's say that S needs X for some purpose P if and only if S cannot acheive P without X.

PA

Define "Need"

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