Natural desire - Philosophical Concept | Alexandria
Natural desire: a term seemingly self-explanatory, yet fraught with philosophical complexity. It suggests an inherent yearning woven into the fabric of human nature, a longing that could guide us towards virtue or, perhaps, mislead us down paths of excess. Often conflated with instinct or base appetites, natural desire transcends mere animalistic drives, hinting at a deeper aspiration toward the good.
The concept traces back to ancient Greece. Plato, in The Republic (c. 380 BC), contemplated the soul's inherent desire for knowledge and the Form of the Good. Aristotle, building upon this, explored orexis—a form of striving or appetition integral to human action—in his Nicomachean Ethics (c. 350 BC). While not using the precise phrase "natural desire," they grappled with the forces within us that steer our choices. This exploration coincided with the burgeoning Athenian democracy, a period marked by intense debate about the ideal life and the role of reason in governing our impulses – a debate in which understanding "natural" inclinations was paramount.
Throughout history, the interpretation of natural desire has been a battleground. Medieval theologians, like Thomas Aquinas in Summa Theologica (1265–1274), integrated Aristotelian thought with Christian doctrine, arguing that humans possess a natural desire for God, a longing that can only be fulfilled through divine grace. This perspective contrasted sharply with later Enlightenment thinkers, such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau, who emphasized the inherent goodness of human nature, corrupted by society, suggesting that our natural desires, untainted, lead towards harmony. Consider the mystery surrounding Hildegard of Bingen, a 12th-century Benedictine abbess and mystic. Her writings express a profound, almost ecstatic desire for union with the divine. Were her visions divinely inspired manifestations of natural desire, or something else entirely?
The legacy of natural desire extends into modern debates about human rights, ethical decision-making, and even our conceptions of happiness. Contemporary philosophers and psychologists continue to grapple with the implications of our innate longings, questioning whether they truly point towards what is good, or simply reflect deeply ingrained evolutionary biases. Is the modern pursuit of material wealth and social status a distortion of a more fundamental natural desire, or is it a legitimate expression of human ambition? Perhaps the crucial question isn't so much what constitutes a natural desire, but whether we possess the wisdom to discern its true object.