Desire (Epithymia) in Aristotle's Biology

In this article, firstly, I focus on the Greek lexicon, which encompasses several terms that can all be translated to convey the concept of ‘desire’ and narrow it down to the specific domain of desire known as epithymia. This field pertains to the fundamental biological functions of living beings, making epithymia the most suitable notion of desire in the context of biology. Secondly, having established that desire is linked to the perception of bodily pleasure, as it drives living beings towards the gratification of eating and engaging in sexual activity, I delve into the passages in which Aristotle discusses these cases. Drawing from the De Anima as a backdrop, I examine excerpts from De partibus animalium where Aristotle analyses the desire for food, and pas- sages from De generatione animalium and Historia animalium where he explores the desire for coitus. Consequently, I conclude with some final observations on desire as the cause of the motion of living beings, presenting two interesting passages from De motu animalium. These passages reaffirm that epithymia is an irrational, bodily desire of utmost importance for the execution of the most fundamental life functions, namely, nutrition and reproduction