Current approaches to the psychology of human motivation are criticized for being too concerned with “individual satisfactions” and “instrumental performance.”An alternative view of motivation which is based on social relationships mediated by symbolic structures is offered. The essence of this approach is the concept of “desire” which is expressed in terms of a mutually defining relationship between one individual and another. The individual desires the recognition of another individual in order to know himself. It is argued that what we call human needs are not just demands for food, sex, love, etc., but become, through the medium of language, calls to other individuals for their recognition or valuing.