ABSTRACT
Any investigation of hunger conducted at the appropriate depth will quickly widen into an enquiry into human nature and the relationship between humanity and nature. It will soon be overwhelmed by the seemingly limitless variety of the pangs felt by the human animal. e nature of hunger – its objects and its subjective content – varies dramatically through our lives. e voracious infant raging at the empty breast will grow up into a person hungry for pleasure, success, self-esteem, power, possessions, or even for a life that seems to have a deeper or more coherent meaning. To be human is to be hungry, yes, but it is also to change hunger from a given by which we are defi ned to needs, passions, desires, by which we defi ne ourselves.
