Imagine.

[ZenitYerkes]

For this thread forget every single preconceived or taught idea out of your head. Forget about politicians, historical facts, wars, peaces, technological advances, your issues and perceptions of reality,...

Imagine your nearest natural place, where people had still not touched the soil to make whatever markets or houses. Add a few people (both men and women; naked or not naked, that's your choice).

What would they actually need? Not only to survive, but also to make a comfortable living.

And a second question

Do those needs coincide with ours?

Think as vastly as you can. Government, health, education,...

[Sacred Tsahaylu]

We did this in my Human Rights tutorial last week, it was so awesome. Partly because my tutor is amazing....
I thought:
1) Food & water
2) Shelter
3) Rules & hierarchy
4) Entertainment?

The second question. Our needs at the moment aren't at all different to those, what makes society today so materialistic is WANTS. People want things and they generally get them. Over time, if people are sufficiently wealthy, the distinction between what we want and what we need gets blurred.

A good answer can be found in the first few episodes of the programme Lost

[Fkeu'itan]

(Assuming they can communicate...) Food, water and shelter. These are the basic things the body needs to function in a correct way and I believe these too are all that people actually need. Cultures, heirarchies, etc. are all formed as a by-product of interaction.

As for whether these match our needs, I don't think so. We were all raised in a system that was already set up for us, a system that is over-saturated with wants and false needs and like it or not, we have grown as a part of this system. This is not to say you have to accept it though...

[Toshowlove]

ZenitYerkes, you never cease to prevail as the philosophy teacher on these forums.

In order to survive and in order to be comfortable are, in my opinion, two very different things. Survival denotes the essentials, food - water - shelter - reproduction.

Comfortablility i would think would consist of leisure activities (Read: entertainment, sports) and faith/community. Trust in the resources you have to be abundant enough to serve all your purposes without threat of losing them.

Zenit... are you secretly a philosophy teacher? lol

[ZenitYerkes]

Originally Posted by Toshowlove

ZenitYerkes, you never cease to prevail as the philosophy teacher on these forums.

In order to survive and in order to be comfortable are, in my opinion, two very different things. Survival denotes the essentials, food - water - shelter - reproduction.

Comfortablility i would think would consist of leisure activities (Read: entertainment, sports) and faith/community. Trust in the resources you have to be abundant enough to serve all your purposes without threat of losing them.

Zenit... are you secretly a philosophy teacher? lol

*goes all red* Well, I'm just interested in the topic; but I just know of philosophy by my Ethics teacher and maybe Plato, I read his Republic (and I gave up, it was so boring ). Anyway I tend to think over stuff too much, hence why I love philosophy.

[HiddenObserver]

For continued survival you will need to be able to migrate as primitive societies often ran out of good quality food (food that did not require long preparation) vary quickly and needed to relocate until the land regenerated.

A strong gene pool is also essential, which requires neighbouring tribes to exchange women with, to prevent inbreeding.

The need for shelter and clothing varies depending on the climate.

Flint and wood at the vary least are needed to create spears for hunting and other tools.

For the individual to be comfortable they would require a strong sense of community and regular social interaction. While they can survive without it there mental health will slowly deteriorate.

I wonder if Alcohol or caffeine is required for comfort. As it allows the individual to shrug off the aches and pains of work they performed. It is debated that human civilisation would have never come this far without it!