What is the origin of wants and desires?

Summary: We all have wants and desires beyond our material needs. But what is the source of these wants and desires is an enigma. Source of these wants and desires is traced to universal instincts to exist, evolve and diversify. The need to regulate the same is emphasized.



Have you ever wondered, why at all do we have wants and desires in the absence of any material need? Why can’t we sit idle with all our biological needs satiated? Why at all I am writing this article? Why don’t we ever want to leave this world despite all the hardship we may be facing in this world? Why do we want to progress from one pillar of strength to another? Why the stronger we are, greater is the desire to progress? Why does the rich say that one doesn’t really have enough money? Why rich wants to get richer? Why wise wants to get wiser? Why men of knowledge are haunted by their ignorance and want to know more? Why women are never satiated by their wardrobe and their beauty? Why does the man in authority ever crave for more authority? Why do people climb mountains and indulge in other adventurous acts? Why do we listen to music when it has nothing to do with our biological needs? Why do we want to keep our emotional relations? Why parents worry about their children and why children want to grow bigger?



This can go on and on but for the sake of brevity it may be stated that the key issues are why we want to keep existence, why do we want to progress in life and why do we seek variety and change despite there being no material need? Alternatively, why do we want to progress along our chosen line of natural progression?



We all have biological needs, being living organisms. We all have emotional and intellectual needs for being humans possessed with self awareness or voluntary consciousness. But we still have wants and desire much beyond our needs. Alexander the great wanted to rule the world and Nero wanted to see burning Rome. This is despite the fact that we are born perfect of our type since this is the mandatory precondition to our existence. The Darwinian notion of imperfect forms trying to perfect themselves is absolutely and totally wrong. Therefore, so long as we are able keep our existence our needs must stand more or less satisfied. A Kollicker in 1864 has rightly stated that each animal suffices for its own ends, is perfect of its kind, and needs no further development. A Kollicker has further stated “Assuredly, every organ has and every organism fulfills, its end, but its purpose is not the condition of its existence. Every organism is also sufficiently perfect for the purpose it serves, and in that it is useless to seek for a cause of its improvement.



To find answer to the question paused in this article, let us travel backward in time when there was no universe, not even time and space existed then. There existed only null (zero or nothing) and not even void (space) but even this null was in a state of dynamic equilibrium with ‘change’ as its inherent property. So we had an ever-changing/ever-oscillating null that was perfect of its type. There was nothing to challenge its existence. Yet within this null existed besides universal instinct to exist, universal instinct to evolve and diversify. All its descendents carried its spirit and hence were endowed with universal instinct to exist, evolve and seek variety or diversity.



These three universal instincts are trans-hierarchically valid principles of nature, valid across the natural hierarchy. Universal instinct to exist operates as a matter of law but universal instinct to evolve and diversify being subject to constrained development do not operate as a matter of law.  In real world variable expression of these instincts is seen along different lines of progression.



Our wants and desires have their origin in innate nature of universe. Our needs can only partly account for our wants and desires. Hence our wants and desires may not always be grounded in necessity. But keeping in view range and reach of human wants and desires, to prevent consequential self destructive conflict of interests, regulation of human wants and desires is mandatory so as to keep dynamic equilibrium of both – nature as well as human society.



Author: Dr Mahesh C. Jain is a practicing medical doctor has written the book “Encounter of Science with Philosophy – A synthetic view”. The book begins with first chapter devoted to scientifically valid concept of God and then explains cosmic phenomena right from origin of nature and universe up to origin of life and evolution of man. The book includes several chapters devoted to auxiliary concepts and social sciences as corollaries to the concept of God. This article is inspired by author’s understanding of nature.



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