I wish researchers like Hinton would stick to discussing the tech. Anytime he says anything about linguistics or human intelligence he sounds like a CS major smugly raising his hand in Phil 101 to a symphony of collective groans.
Hinton is a good computer scientist (with an infinitesimally narrow window of expertise). But the guy is philosophically illiterate.
RFK Jr is despicable, but Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals from microplastics are ABSOLUTELY wreaking havoc on human reproductive physiology. The evidence is overwhelming and this TechDirt article is frankly embarrassing.
Reproduction is a paradigmatic example of a meaningless urge or desire. You can certainly choose to reproduce, if you want, but nothing bad happens if you don’t.
Colloquially, you can think of fundamental values or virtues. So, community might be one of your values, which translates to specific needs, like a sense of belonging or acceptance. Similarly, if being alive is important to you, then food and water will be among your list of needs.
On the other hand, you might have a desire to chew your nails, which would briefly relieve your anxiety but cause other long-term problems. You weigh these facts and decide not to fulfill your desire to chew your nails.
You cannot reasonably opt-out of having friends, however, if community is important to you; hence, that is a need.
Desires are just natural facts, like headaches. Desires aren’t rational or irrational. They just are. The way you respond to your desires can be good or bad, but the desire itself is something that’s happening to you.
Needs are instrumental in some broader normative context. For instance, self-actualization is probably one of your fundamental values (which are less optional than people think). To that end, you have Maslow’s hierarchy of needs to worry about.
You also have to contend with a laundry list of desires, fulfilling some of which could make you happy or sad. Rationality is your sensitivity and responsiveness to facts that count in favor of pursuing (or eschewing) these desires.