Physiological needs, such as sexual desire and hunger, are essential for sustaining human life. These are desires that cannot be fulfilled by one’s body alone; they inherently require the presence of others. On the other hand, is the “desire for survival”—the yearning to live—synonymous with these physiological needs? Perhaps the desire for survival can be defined as the wish to avoid death and the longing to remain “there.”
“There” refers to any arbitrary place where one wishes to be. While it is healthy for this desired place to align with the actual physical location of one’s body, the two are rarely in perfect harmony. We strive to bring them into alignment, and this very effort is what it means to live; it is what the desire for survival compels us to do. In this respect, the desire for survival does not necessarily imply physiological needs.
Rather, it concerns how one satisfies the physiological needs that require others. For instance, it involves choosing a profession to earn a living and deciding how to spend one’s days. The desire for survival questions how one should live in order to satisfy physiological needs. To say that the desire for survival does not imply physiological needs means that the elements required to satisfy each are distinct.
That which satisfies physiological needs is material. In contrast, the desire for survival seeks the method by which those materials are obtained. However, the desire for survival does not exist solely to fulfill physiological needs. As mentioned at the beginning, it seeks to place oneself in a desired environment. Striving toward that goal is the essence of living.
This striving involves searching for and moving toward a desired place, or refining the place where one currently resides. This applies not only to physical changes like moving house or redecorating but also to choices regarding careers, hobbies, and interpersonal relationships. Yet, as previously noted, the place where we find ourselves is not always the place we wish to be.
When one’s desired place is unattainable—that is, when the desire for survival is unfulfilled—one may attempt to satisfy physiological needs excessively or, in some cases, choose to end their life. To live, humans require both physiological needs, which seek material fulfillment, and the desire for survival, which is crucial in the process of achieving that fulfillment. Perhaps an intensification of physiological needs is a sign that the desire for survival is not being sufficiently met.
