Need

Need is the first moment of the life process (Ch. 19.2) and the manifestation of "being-for-itself" as a moment of self-relation (Ch. 19.1). It is the felt lack (e.g., hunger, thirst), the "self-relation through negation." Need is not merely mechanical (like an empty tank), but is felt by the living system as suffering from lack. It is negative (something is missing) and at the same time positive (the organism knows what it lacks). From need springs the drive (Ch. 19.2, 19.8).