Senses and Appetites

In Common with Animals

Because we are living physical creatures, we have all of the qualities that animals have. Human beings are defined by the addition of spiritual faculties, which govern and elevate our physical faculties and animal qualities. So, when psychology “discovered” due to Darwinism that we can learn a lot about human behavior by observing animal behavior, it really hadn’t discovered anything new. While it did not place this knowledge in a scientific framework, the Church has always known that there is a connection between animal and human natures.

So, to learn something about human nature, we can ask ourselves, “How do animals gain knowledge about the world?” For me, the clearest subject to observe in this regard is Fido. Dogs are constantly curious about their environment. How does he learn about it? By sniffing stuff. Animals gain knowledge through their senses (we call this “sense knowledge”). If you are Fido’s owner, how does Fido know you? He knows your scent, the sound of your voice, and what you look like. He associates these sense stimuli with physical and emotional well-being (in reality, dogs see their human orders as the alpha of the pack, not as a human companion).

Knowledge of the Physical World

The senses are also our primary way of learning about the world. All human experience begins with sense knowledge. Since the senses are physical faculties, they help us to learn first about the physical world. One of the principles of behavioral psychology is that human behavior is shaped primarily through learned responses to sensory stimuli. It is certainly true for human beings that we respond to sensory stimulation just as animals do. The difference is that human beings have another layer provided by the spiritual aspect of our nature that allows us to overcome these learned responses and to shape our own behavior by choice (behavioral psychology ignores this aspect of human nature). However, our sensory experience remains a powerful influence on us, a key way we learn about the world, and central to the human experience.

Desire for Physical Goods

We also share with animals the desire to attain what we perceived as physically good for us. This desire comes from our “sense appetites.” When our senses identify something that we have judged to be good, we are motivated to go out and get it. The sense appetites are primarily geared toward meeting our biological needs. However, they are also the source of our quest for physical pleasure that goes beyond meeting our needs.

We also have drives that motivate us to avoid what we perceive as evil or dangerous to our physical well-being. These “irrascible appetites” are especially active when we perceive a possible threat to our lives. However, they can also be as subtle as an aversion to a food we don’t like.

Emotions

The sense appetites and irrascible appetites give rise to emotions. I find it fascinating that so many people misunderstand emotions as something definitively human. The Star Trek TV series portrayed emotion as the one element missing in certain characters’ attempts to become human. Once in a while a news magazine will proclaim that scientists have “discovered” that animals have emotions. More frequently a human interest story will proclaim that we should treat our pets with more respect because their emotions show that they are more human than we take them for.

In reality, emotions are a physical function of the sense appetites. Animals have sense appetites, and therefore emotions, just as humans do. The purpose of emotions is to motivate us. “Positive” emotions – love, joy, desires, hope, etc. – motivate us to attain physical goods. They are therefore an expression of the sense appetites. “Negative” emotions – hatred, sorrow, aversion, fear, etc. – motivate us to avoid physical evils. They are an experssion of the irrascible appetites.

Because of the integration of the physical and spiritual elements of human nature, human emotions are much more complex than the emotions of animals. You can learn more about human emotions and the other subjects related to natural law by exploring the Dear Brother Thomas classes in the Classroom.

Living a Truly Human Life

The damaged caused by Original Sin had many bad effects on our physical nature

• Our physical desires overpower our spiritual faculties instead of being governed by them
• We can desire things that are not truly good for us
• Our emotions can deceive us
• Our emotions can drive us rather than our will, diminishing our freedom

Being truly human does not mean completely suppressing our physical desires. Our physical faculties are part of what makes us human, and they serve our physical needs. However, we must bring them back into proper balance with our spiritual faculties. This means learning to exercise self-control that balances our desire for physical goods. Natural law leads us to identifying and exericising those virtues that can help us do this.