On Maslow's Hierarchy of (French) Needs

On Maslow's Hierarchy of (French) Needs

From Echoes Underground by Echoes Underground

July 14, 2025 · 60 min · Season 1 · Episode 38

About this episode

The episode explores the life of Auguste Dupuis, a French missionary in Timbuktu, and reflects on modern society's struggles with Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs.

Our co-host’s eye was drawn to a weathered tome in an antiquarian bookshop: The White Monk of Timbuctoo , by William Seabrook. It promised (and delivered) the life story of a French defrocked priest living in great luxury in a mud palace in 1930s Timbuktu, all in electric prose and fitting into a long-standing interest in high-agency colonial Frenchmen doing interesting things in liminal spaces. See also: Antoine de Saint-Exupery and Henry de Montfried. This white monk, Auguste Dupuis aka Pere Yakouba, had been in the first group of missionaries to make it alive to Timbuktu. They set up a clinic and chapel, and he ended up leading the mission. He was slightly scandalous, a heavy drinker and extremely French womaniser, so was sent on a new mission to Dahomey which he completely nailed. Recalled to become a bishop, he decided that he actually didn’t want to leave Timbuktu so left the church, married a local, and became a local worthy - a career that culminated in establishing a university. What can we learn from this career? In modernity, we are focused on the bottom rungs of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs - food, shelter, safety. We spend our lives chasing more and more refined…

People in this episode

Host: Echoes Underground

Topics covered

  • Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
  • colonial history
  • French culture
  • missionary work
  • loneliness epidemic

Keywords

  • Maslow's Hierarchy
  • Timbuktu
  • French missionary
  • loneliness
  • self-actualization

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: The White Monk of Timbuctoo

Places: Timbuktu, Dahomey

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