Self-Actualization

Abstract

It is through the work of Abraham Maslow that some of us have come to know the term 'self-actualization.' Self-actualization is known within the field of Psychology, and thus assumed to fit within the paradigm of empirical sciences, yet it was never intended to be so; this term was merely the result of Maslow's desire to understand two of his teachers that he greatly admired. He quickly noticed similarities between them and many other 'healthy' people, and from these similarities continued to develop the conditions for psychological health. All the way, he acknowledged the unscientific nature of his work. Fittingly, my attempts to study self-actualization have followed the same path as Maslow's, as most of his developments were derived from his own self-exploration.