They literally said they believe the pyramid of needs to be upside down, so you'd have self-actualization at the bottom, and food and shelter at the top.
Not at all! It would surprise me if someone had gone without food and shelter and then insisted that self-actualization was more important to them when they were cold and hungry.
Why? For the record, in my early twenties I moved to a city, fell in with a bad crowd, was robbed of my savings, and ended up living in my car for a time. I lost almost a pound a day that month. At no point did I start thinking differently, like a reptile or robot (or whatever you're imagining), or stop thinking about myself as a personality or a soul. Soft-science textbooks are manipulative bullshit.
Limited shelter plus forced fasting is a way to achieve self actualization, learning both the limits of your body and discipline. Only to a degree, too much and you’re physically injured perhaps permanently.
