after food, shelter and safety...

what do you think the most basic human drive is
I think it will be the same for men and women....

some say "seeking pleasure and avoiding pain"

others say "protecting or validating our fragile ego"

I believe religious or god answers are superficial to this question

I am asking because...
I don't have the answer..

is the need to be loved?

My drive is to make a lot of money so I can retire in style. Don't need anything else personally. As for Ego; mine is just fine so I don't need to validate it.

Mental stability. What ever it takes to keep me "intelligently" handling what ever life brings.

I think it depends on wat person think o need in his/her lyf. Cuz an 18 n 80 yr old person doesn have same need.

The only things that come to mind, after those three, are money or employment. Can't really think if there's any more after that.

SEX

I don't know everything about anything but if you keep it simple you need your food,shelter.and then you need to pass the time so i say entertainment.which ever form it comes in even company is entertainment really. That's my thought

I would've thought well being would be right up there somewhere. If you're physically and mentally unwell....how can you expect to maintain the first 3?

I believe the most basic need past the "big three" is companionship. It's why most of us are here isn't it? It's why we get dogs and cats. We crave others to share our successes, trials and tribulations. We need others to hear our ideas and opinions.

Joy

Survival is the prime directive.

The need to find a suitable mate and pass on one's genes is the secondary directive.

Now, I want to clarify the above statement a little. I have no desire to father any more children. However, my body still drives me to seek out suitable women and have sex with them. No matter how much I want to avoid fatherhood again, I cannot shut off my desires for sex because they come from a much older part of my brain than my conscious thoughts come from. I cannot avoid feeling lust, but I can choose how I handle feeling it.

I say education after the three. By living you are learning. And to learn you need knowledge in everything. You can't survive if you do not learn your mistake. It takes one to realize there mistake and soon will teach the lesson to their children and so on.

I think that is important for a lot of people, and different types of love. Many want that special someone to love and be loved, others want the love that friends and family provide. I think the number of dating sites prove just how much we want to be loved.

Sex would be another sense it is the instinct of all life to reproduce. One reason why it is so pleasurable.

How do you say one drive is more basic than another?

I think there are many basic drives, and the one that seems most basic to you at some point in time might relate to which needs are not being met at the time.

In the USA, it is a trip to the grocery store.

If I’m not mistaken, you’ve listed everything but sex.

Love, joy, etc. are merely emotions and not technically “drives”.

So, I believe you are looking for sex.

What does etiquette dictate here? My apology or your laughter?