URGES
The fundamental bodily needs express themselves as urges in both animals and humans. Animal behaviour aims at survival and the continuity of the species. These impulses of self-preservation are encoded in our bodies as animal heritage. They are part of human nature that responds to environmental impulses to maintain the body.
CULTURE = cultivation of human emotionality and mentality
Derek Denton distinguishes between 'classical' emotions such as love, anger, fear etc. and 'primordial'homeostatic emotions, which he describes as "the subjective element of the instincts, (...) the genetically programmed behavior patterns which contrive homeostasis." Those primordial emotions are evoked by bodily states such as thirst, hunger, breathing, pain, fatigue etc. They are necessary for the body's internal milieu and its balance, thus the homeostatic sensations are experienced as imperious and strive for gratification.
URGES are impulses FROM BODily NEEDS
Urges are physiological movements that let the animal experience the sensations of hunger, thirst and sexual tension. These are bodily needs required for basic survival. Urges make it possible for an animal to instinctively 'know' when to eat, drink and propagate, so that the organism and the species can persist.
An urge is biological arousal that expresses a bodily need. When those needs are satisfied, we feel a sensation of pleasure. When they are not satisfied, we feel frustration or discomfort. As soon as environmental processes go against the integrity of our bodies, we feel pain. An animal reacts with fear and anger when it feels threatened or prevented from obtaining what it needs. It follows its urges, and its emotional life is for the most part influenced by the bodily issues of survival and self-preservation. This state of affairs represents the lowest (most primitive) part of human nature.
Undeveloped mentality mainly occupies itself with bodily issues. Any abstract thought is too difficult for it to handle. In this way its focus shifts more easily towards the basic and primitive behaviours, because there is no mental interests to occupy the underdeveloped mind. It is part of character development to learn how to control the urges and how to devote oneself to the cultivation of 'higher' faculties such as noble feelings and the intellect. Collectively, the cultivation (fostering) of human emotionality and mentality in society is the task of so called CULTURE.
Urge = senses + AROUSAL (emotion)
Urges are expressions of bodily needs for survival and reproduction. They develop under the influence of senses.
The difference between animals and humans is that we have a highly developed mentality. We intellectualise emotions and so develop feelings due to our relatively more developed minds. In this way our emotional life becomes far more complex than that of animals.
Human development implies a moderation of urges and the cultivation of noble feelings and thoughts through the creation of a culture.
