The Inexorable Link: Desire as the Cause of Sin
From the earliest philosophical inquiries to the profound theological treatises, the human experience has grappled with the origins of moral transgression. This article posits that desire, in its unchecked or misdirected form, serves as the fundamental cause of sin. It is not desire itself, a natural and often necessary faculty, but rather the will's assent to desires that defy reason, divine law, or the common good, that precipitates our fall into sin. We shall traverse the philosophical landscape, drawing upon the wisdom of the Great Books, to illuminate this perennial struggle.
The Genesis of Transgression: Understanding the Core Concepts
To dissect the assertion that desire causes sin, we must first establish a common ground for our terms.
- Desire: At its most basic, desire is an inclination or longing towards something perceived as good or pleasurable. It is an intrinsic part of human nature, encompassing everything from the primal need for sustenance to the loftier aspirations for knowledge or love. The Greeks spoke of epithymia (bodily appetites) and orexis (general striving).
- Sin: Often understood as a transgression against divine law or a moral principle. It implies a departure from what is right, good, or virtuous. Philosophically, it can be viewed as an act that diminishes the agent, harms others, or disrupts the natural order.
- Cause: In this context, the cause is the originating factor or primary impetus that leads to sin. While external temptations exist, we are concerned here with the internal mechanism.
- Will: The faculty of the mind by which one decides on and initiates actions. It is the power of choice, the arbiter between conflicting desires and reason.
The Will: The Crucial Intermediary
It is paramount to understand that desire itself is often morally neutral. The hunger for food is not sinful; theft to satisfy that hunger is. The longing for companionship is not sinful; adultery born of that longing is. The transformation of a neutral desire into a sinful act hinges entirely upon the will. The will, guided or misguided by reason, is the gatekeeper. When the will assents to a desire that reason or conscience deems inappropriate, harmful, or unlawful, that is the moment sin takes root. The desire provides the impetus, but the will provides the permission.
Voices from the Great Books: A Philosophical Lineage
The concept of desire leading to sin is not a modern innovation but a thread woven through the fabric of Western thought.
Plato and the Charioteer: Reason's Struggle
In Plato's Phaedrus, the soul is famously depicted as a charioteer (reason) guiding two winged horses: one noble (spirit/thumos) and one unruly (appetite/epithymia). The unruly horse, representing base desires, constantly threatens to pull the chariot off course. Sin, in this Platonic sense, arises when the charioteer loses control, allowing appetites to dominate reason. The desire for immediate gratification, when unchecked by the will (acting as the charioteer guided by reason), leads to actions that are not aligned with virtue or the Good.
Augustine's Disordered Love: The Corrupted Will
For Saint Augustine, particularly in his Confessions and City of God, the will is central. He argues that sin is a result of a disordered love—a love for lesser goods (temporal desires) over the supreme Good (God). The Fall, for Augustine, corrupted the will, making it prone to assent to desires that are contrary to divine law. He posited that original sin introduced concupiscence, an inclination towards evil, where desires pull the will away from its proper orientation. Here, desire (concupiscence) actively causes the will to choose sin.
Aquinas on Concupiscence and Reason: The Battle for Virtue
Thomas Aquinas, synthesizing Aristotelian philosophy with Christian theology in his Summa Theologica, further elaborates. He distinguishes between natural desires (e.g., for food, knowledge) and disordered desires (concupiscence). While natural desires are good, concupiscence—the inclination towards sensible goods that resist the control of reason—is a consequence of original sin. Aquinas states that the will is free, but it is constantly assailed by sensitive desires. Sin occurs when the will chooses to follow these disordered desires, rather than the dictates of right reason or divine law. The cause of sin is thus often the will's failure to govern its desires through reason.
The Mechanism of Sin: When Desire Overtakes Will
The process by which desire becomes the cause of sin can be understood as a sequence, a gradual yielding of the will.
- Emergence of Desire: A longing arises, perhaps for pleasure, power, or possession.
- Consideration by Reason: The intellect evaluates the desire. Is it good? Is it lawful? Is it prudent?
- Conflict within the Will: If the desire conflicts with reason or moral law, a struggle ensues. The will is presented with a choice: to follow reason or to yield to the compelling desire.
- Assent of the Will: If the will chooses to ignore reason and embraces the disordered desire, this assent is the moment of sin. The desire has now become the cause of the sinful act, facilitated by the will's choice.
- Execution of the Act: The sinful thought, word, or deed is then performed.
Consider the following table illustrating this progression:
| Stage | Description
📹 Related Video: What is Philosophy?
Video by: The School of Life
💡 Want different videos? Search YouTube for: "Desire as the Cause of Sin philosophy"