Appetition

a) Nature of Appetition — b) The Appetencies or Passions

a) Nature of Appetition

Appetition, appetency, or simply appetite is the organic faculty of tending towards what the senses present as desirable, and of tending away from what the senses present as undesirable. It is the organic or sentient faculty for going after what is sensed as good.

This brief description is adequate, for it is obvious that one tends to go after good not only when the tendency is towards a positively desirable reality but also when the tendency is away from an undesirable one; for it is good to avoid evil.

Every creature, lifeless and living, tends towards what suits it. This tendency is called natural appetency or appetite. But we speak here of sentient beings and specifically of man, and of that tendency which is the result of sense-knowledge. Sentient beings, therefore, have appetition which follows upon sensory knowledge.

Technically, we may define appetition (a term which, with appetite and appetency, comes from the Latin ad “toward” and petere “to seek” or “to strive”) as an immanent operation by which a sentient being is inclined towards that which the senses apprehend as good.

Now it is obvious that sentient beings possess appetition. For appetition is the complement and consequence of sensation. If there were no appetition in sentient organisms, the bird would see straw and twigs, but she would not build a nest, for there is nothing in the mere seeing of materials to stir her to the task of building. Without appetition, animals and human beings would not, and indeed could not, exercise many of their natural functions. But it is a matter of commonest experience that they do fulfill their functions. It follows inevitably that they possess the power, and exercise the operation, of appetition.

b) The Appetencies or Passions

The various acts and states of sentient appetition are called passions. A passion, in the philosophical sense, is an act or state of the sentient appetite — a tendency of the sentient appetite evoked by sense-knowledge of an object apprehended as good or evil.

Passions are divided into two groups: concupiscible and irascible.

The concupiscible passions are those which regard the sensed good or evil considered simply and absolutely — as merely something to be embraced or avoided. They are six in number, arranged in three pairs of contraries:

1. Love and hatred. Love is the fundamental inclination or complacency of the appetite towards the sensed good. Hatred is the fundamental repugnance of the appetite towards the sensed evil.

2. Desire and abhorrence (or aversion). Desire is the movement of the appetite towards an absent sensed good. Abhorrence is the movement of the appetite away from an absent sensed evil.

3. Joy and sadness. Joy is the repose of the appetite in a present possessed sensed good. Sadness is the distress of the appetite in the presence of a possessed sensed evil.

The irascible passions are those which regard the sensed good or evil considered as difficult of attainment or avoidance — as involving struggle. They are five in number:

1. Hope and despair. Hope is the movement of the appetite towards a difficult but attainable sensed good. Despair is the withdrawal of the appetite from a difficult and unattainable sensed good.

2. Courage and fear. Courage is the movement of the appetite to face and overcome a difficult sensed evil. Fear is the withdrawal of the appetite from a difficult sensed evil which it cannot overcome.

3. Anger. Anger is the impulse of the appetite against a present sensed evil which resists removal.

The passions are good in themselves. They are natural movements of the sensitive appetite, and as such they are the endowment of human nature. They lead to evil only when inordinately used or engaged upon wrong objects under the influence of perverse will.

We have learned that all the passions are rooted in love. For love — the fundamental complacency or inclination of the appetite towards the sensed good — is the source from which all other passions flow. Hatred flows from love: we hate what threatens or opposes what we love. Desire moves towards the absent good we love. Abhorrence recoils from the absent evil that threatens the good we love. Joy rests in the possessed good we love. Sadness is distressed at the evil that afflicts what we love or prevents our having what we love. And the irascible passions all arise in response to the difficulties that surround the attainment or preservation of what we love.

The organ which exercises appetition is the brain, and the organ which first manifests it is the heart.

Summary of the Article

In this short Article we have defined sentient appetition and have distinguished it from the natural appetency of all creatures. We have classified the sentient appetencies or passions as concupiscible (love-hatred; desire-abhorrence; joy-sadness) and irascible (hope-despair; courage-fear; anger). We have seen that the passions are good in themselves, and lead to evil only when inordinately used or engaged upon wrong objects under the influence of perverse will. We have learned that all the passions are rooted in love. We have found that the organ which exercises appetition is the brain, and the organ which first manifests it is the heart.