Reproduction is a paradigmatic example of a meaningless urge or desire. You can certainly choose to reproduce, if you must.

Colloquially, you can think of values or virtues. So, community might be something you value, which gives you certain needs, such as a sense of belonging or acceptance. Similarly, if being alive is important to you, then food, water, and shelter will be among your growing 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 or simply decide not to eat if living is still a priority. Those are needs.

Needs are instrumental to some normative goal. You might have a reason to believe, do, or act. To that end, you have “needs.”

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.

So, for instance, self-actualization might be one of your values. 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 acting on (or eschewing) these desires.

Rolex. Evincing narcissism or psychopathy.

Maybe Hong Kong counts as a military occupation? I mean, I doubt if 3.5% of Ukrainians protested that Russia would just leave, so external occupations probably don’t count.

Why are you obsessed with the color of people’s skin and indifferent to their humanity? Should children be beaten, abused, mutilated, sold off to be married just because their parents are part of some abrahamic cult?

Daily reminder that religion is a monstrous evil.