Hunger VS Apetite -- My Philosophy On It
Updated: Feb 21
(Enjoy the source: https://badgut.org/information-centre/a-z-digestive-topics/hunger-and-appetite/ )
Hunger and appetite, on whatever subject is involved that is not only food, are things that are easily confused. When people say that there is a need to end hunger, they fail to realize that hunger is merely an indication that one needs something in order to exist.
Appetite, on the other hand, is like a hand that pulls one in, with more passion, more craving, and more addiction. The hungrier you are, the closer you will be to death, but the more craving you have, the more you will suffer, at the hands of life's many unnecessities.
There is also a third concept at hand, which the two terms naturally connect to -- demand. There are things and beings that we need, and there are things and beings that we want. Regardless of either, however, there is a demand, and that demand is what keeps the economy afloat, even if the object of the demand is utterly unnecessary.
We know what hunger is. It is when we need to consume something in order to live another day. If we hadn't had that important indication, we wouldn't have known what we would've needed, and instead we would slowly deteriorate and die. Hunger is necessary for survival. Apetite does not.
When you are ruled by appetite, however, the object of consumption becomes your master. If anything Drugs, alcohol, attracted sex, and many other addictions -- we are told we "need" at least some of these things, but in reality, they make us slaves to the suppliers who provide them. The more appetite we have, the better, because it would mean that people on the other side of the counter would live on your repressed misery.
How is appetite a repressed misery? Survive a day or two without the things that entertain you and which you don't need, like TV, sugary drinks, and perhaps your smartphone as well -- and you'll find yourself tempted to escape. To escape from what? To escape from misery, put onto you, by your various passions of life.
The thing about passions is that, while they make you happier, they are basically your form of escapism from dealing with reality, where their objects are not frequently consumed. Not every one of us is a vegetarian or has the tenacity to only eat vegetables. However, when one suddenly does not have access to things they like to eat and drink, like meat and alcohol, that is when one has the chance to realize, how weak they are.
That is, therefore, the main, yet not well-known, difference between hunger and appetite. The one you need by default to survive, while the other creates the illusion of demand, just for you to depend on it unnecessarily. When dependence is made, one becomes less and less free, in the name of modern comfort, and financial materialism.
Look at younger kids who like candy and other sugary products. Sugar, while necessary to an extent, is a very addicting substance for all ages, and the more you consume it, the more appetite you'll have for it. That appetite is a sign that you have grown weaker as an individual, because it means that you now crave something you don't entirely need, to be a happy man or woman, in a world that basically capitalizes on our appetites and addictions.
What is the difference between appetite and addiction? Appetite can be seen as a form of addiction. When you crave something, it is just a temptation that could link you to your next addiction. Addiction is presented by habit, and once that habit is made, the craving/appetite is the thing that keeps your unhealthy relationship with it afloat indefinitely, or until you die.
To better understand the world around me, I've tried things that are addictive to some, only to see how futile they are. I drank beer regularly, ordered pizza every few weeks, and even spent entire nights on video games. Despite the addictive potential, it appears that I am mostly resilient to these appetites.
Because of that, I now realize how futile much of what life has to offer is. It seems, at least to me, that the many offerings of life are but misery disguised as passion. We do and consume all these things, just to get away from something that is very troublesome -- the company of ourselves.
There is a reason why solitary confinement is regarded as torture. It's because we, as human beings, have grown weak from the many external things that make us happy, and I include myself here as well. Can you imagine living without the internet for the rest of your life, just like that? Countless generations have done that before.
Homes didn't always have screens across their rooms, and there wasn't always a demand for electricity. Why does my electricity bill cover, like, a third of my welfare income? Because electricity is modern man's ultimate substance. Not sugar, not tobacco, not alcohol -- electricity. It is the ultimate "drug" because most contemporary people cannot endure a life without it on a regular basis, even if their jobs do not include interactions with electronic devices.
I have a confession to make. While I'm not prone to coffee or gaming addictions (I think?), I am afraid of silence. It is the same silence that revolves around being with myself. I am not afraid to be with myself, but I am afraid of silence, and that is why I listen to music even when I'm going to bed.
The thought of letting my ears be exposed to noise, which could deteriorate my health, has created an unhealthy appetite for music. All my life I've been suffering intensely from noise, so music is my only auditory comfort. I don't need music, I want it, for the sake of my wellbeing.
I think my justification is just. After all, I am anxious for my mental health. How about you, however? Whether you smoke, drink occasionally, or surf the internet all day... What is your justification, that makes you, theoretically, a weaker man or woman? I simply do not want my ears to be abused. I don't always listen to audio by will -- I just want to protect my mind, sometimes.
Is your appetite backed by justification, or is it there for happiness? Or to make you... forget? Forget about the life you're having, forget about your problems. To keep you from thinking, how meaningless could existence be? How it might become, perhaps?
Appetite is, partially a distraction that keeps us away from our problems. A way to escape, like many other addictions. Thus, the less addictions you have, the easier it might be for you, to face reality, and confront your hardships.
I could go even further and claim that we may use this escapist method as a self-defense mechanism from understanding reality. That is, of course, if we regard it the same value of other hedonistic activities. Activities that might not necessarily involve addiction.
That is what made me become a philosopher and live a life of solitude -- to face these problems and look at them in the white of their eyes. That is why philosophy is the only thing I'm proud of doing.
And indeed, I solved my dependency on apetite. I lost a lot of weight from October 2022 and onwards to June 2023. This is how I look, as of this article's revampment:
