In 1886, Robert Louis Stevenson penned the often misunderstood story of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. 
This is often thought of as a story of Good vs Evil, but if you examine the story more closely one will discover that Dr. Jekyll was not only pursuing the ‘Evil’ side of himself, but the many selves that lie beneath.
We all have our own inner primitive self that we keep under tight control just beneath the surface, 
the raging beast that gives us strength and drive, the ability to ‘defend ourselves’, we all need this creature of violence otherwise we would not be who we are. We all become angry at one time or another, we all have a selfish side to ourselves(fortunately, most of us can control this aspect)the part of us who is possessive, vain, controlling…..these are perceived as negative aspects, but they are all part of our whole self.
So, why is this horrible beast so critically important to our well-being? Why is it that we can’t live without the monster 
inside each of us? A good example is Maslow’s Hierarchy of Need’s, an accepted collection of need’s for human psychological actualization. Physiological Needs: This requires the base instincts that we obtain from the predator inside all of us, the hunter that allows us to seek out 
food, drink(shopping), sex, and allows us to find the resources for sleep, without the creature none of these skills would be present, our survival instinct belongs to the beast. Safety Needs: These needs require the strength and protective instincts that the monster affords us all, our pursuit of security, employment, law & health are actually consistent with this. Psychological Needs: As we climb Maslow’s Hierarchy we see the emergence of the human intellect, compassion, control, in other word’s the ‘Jekyll’ to the ‘Hyde’ that we have been discussing. In obtaining the Psychological Needs(Family, Affection, Relationships, A Work Group)we must control the beast, and use the powers of judgement that come with our advanced intellect. Esteem Needs: Most would think that we had taken the final step away from the beast, but remember that the beast is proud and vain, both necessary aspects of self-esteem. Self-Actualization: Now that we have reached the pinnacle of Maslow’s Hierarchy,
we find the emergence of our personal Dr Jekyll, the creativity, morality, problem-solving, acceptance……but what gives us this drive to achieve these aspects, what gives us the energy and strength to reach this point…..the beast.
There are those in our society who have for one reason or another given into the monster 
inside, given into the baser predatory instincts. These are societies criminals, individual who have created their own form of self-actualization, sociopaths. When 
control is removed from the beast this is the result. But worry not, those who have left societies norms have been found to have some form of moral or psychological defect….these are the few, most of us have learned to integrate our own personal Mr Hyde with our Dr Jekyll into healthy productive lives.
Robert Louis Stevenson, a Scottish novelist, poet, essayist & travel writer, was well ahead of his time in his understanding of the human condition, or was he just spinning an entertaining tale about a man who tried to achieve more than he should?
Boeree, D. C. (2006). Abraham Maslow. Retrieved from http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/maslow.html
Profile of the Sociopath. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.mcafee.cc/Bin/sb.html
Robert Louis Stevenson. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.robert-louis-stevenson.org/
Stevenson, R. L. (1886). The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde.
Cognoscere 