The Personal Meaning of Social Values in the Work of Abraham Maslow

Abstract

Abraham Maslow (1908-1970) was, with Carl Rogers, the co-founder of what came to be known as the Third Force school of psychology. Considered a neo-Freudian in the post-psychoanalytical school, Maslow became a leader in the development of new modalities of treatment using psychotherapeutic techniques developed in his practice over many years and ultimately became a celebrated scholar and teaching using his concept of the hierarchy of needs and self-actualization. Where Maslow has too often and undeservedly been overlooked is in his exploration of the meaning and nature of values in the arena of public education. This essay is an attempt to correct this common oversight.