Craving One Thing
The Problem of Spiritual Opsomania
The Aesthetics of Creative Living
Opsomania is the excessive craving for a particular delicacy, originally referring to food but easily extended to any obsessive fixation—be it fame, power, or even a single idea. In Whitehead’s philosophy, true harmony in experience arises from the coordination of four elements: chaos (novelty and unpredictability), vagueness (ambiguity and openness), narrowness (focused intensity), and width (breadth and diversity). When narrowness becomes excessive—as in opsomania—it overwhelms the other elements, collapsing experience into rigidity and reducing the richness of life. The creative life, by contrast, resists such imbalance. It welcomes surprise, embraces ambiguity, focuses where needed without becoming fixated, and remains open to a wide range of feelings and possibilities. In this way, the creative life is not only free from opsomania, but also free for harmony—a living, evolving wholeness shaped by contrast, movement, and depth.
Chaos, Vagueness,
Narrowness, and Width
"The right chaos, and the right vagueness, are jointly required for any effective harmony. They produce the massive simplicity which has been expressed by the term ‘narrowness.’ Thus chaos is not to be identified with evil; for harmony requires the due coordination of chaos, vagueness, narrowness, and width."
= Alfred North Whitehead, Process and Reality
In Whitehead's philosophy, in each moment of our lives we are driven by a desire for satisfying intensity: a harmony that feels both complete and fulfilling. It is a desire for harmony, understood as a coordination of chaos, vagueness, narrownes, and width.
Together, these elements must be coordinated—not dominated by any one alone—for true aesthetic wholeness to emerge in a given moment.
We are always reaching for this harmony, not only for ourselves but in relation to others and the world. Yet this pursuit can be undermined by imbalance, especially when narrowness becomes obsessive. When we fixate too intensely on a single desire, we begin to lose the broader richness and complexity that true harmony requires. The spontaneity of chaos, the subtlety of vagueness, and the breadth of width are gradually excluded. In this way, our quest for aesthetic satisfaction ceases to be a creative adventure and becomes a self-enclosed loop. Harmony, then, is not found in the triumph of one taste, one aim, or one feeling, but in the delicate coordination of contrasts that make life deep, varied, and whole.
= Alfred North Whitehead, Process and Reality
In Whitehead's philosophy, in each moment of our lives we are driven by a desire for satisfying intensity: a harmony that feels both complete and fulfilling. It is a desire for harmony, understood as a coordination of chaos, vagueness, narrownes, and width.
- Chaos: The presence of unpredictability, spontaneity, and novelty; the rawness of potential that keeps experience alive and dynamic.
- Vagueness: The ambiguity and openness that allows for nuance, subtlety, and interpretive depth; it resists fixed boundaries.
- Narrowness: A focused intensity or precision; the sharpness of attention that gives clarity and depth to experience.
- Width: The breadth or range of feeling, perspective, and possibility; an openness to diversity and the larger context of experience.
Together, these elements must be coordinated—not dominated by any one alone—for true aesthetic wholeness to emerge in a given moment.
We are always reaching for this harmony, not only for ourselves but in relation to others and the world. Yet this pursuit can be undermined by imbalance, especially when narrowness becomes obsessive. When we fixate too intensely on a single desire, we begin to lose the broader richness and complexity that true harmony requires. The spontaneity of chaos, the subtlety of vagueness, and the breadth of width are gradually excluded. In this way, our quest for aesthetic satisfaction ceases to be a creative adventure and becomes a self-enclosed loop. Harmony, then, is not found in the triumph of one taste, one aim, or one feeling, but in the delicate coordination of contrasts that make life deep, varied, and whole.
Beyond Opsomania
Opsomania: From Delicacy to Obsession
I am sympathetic to opsomaniacs—those who are quietly obsessive about particular foods. The friend who drives across town for a perfect almond croissant, the aunt who insists on one specific brand of olive oil, the philosopher who won’t eat breakfast without exactly two figs and a slice of goat cheese. There’s something tender, even endearing, about these fixations. They speak to a kind of longing—for familiarity, for pleasure, for that one thing that makes the meal feel right.
The word opsomania finds its roots in classical Greek, and the Oxford English Dictionary defines it as:
“A morbid or excessive craving for a particular kind of food, especially a delicacy.”¹
Derived from opso- (ὄψον), meaning a relish or delicacy eaten with bread, and -mania (μανία), meaning madness or frenzy, the term originally carried connotations of imbalance or excess. In ancient usage, it often described someone so obsessed with a specific delicacy—fish was a common example—that they neglected the basic staples of life. Think of the gourmand who cannot enjoy a meal without his rare treat, who craves caviar but spurns the bread.
Opsomania as Metaphor
Yet opsomania has taken on a broader metaphorical life. It has become a vivid image of any obsessive craving—a desire that latches onto one thing to the exclusion of all else. Whether the object is beauty, fame, success, religious ecstasy, or intellectual certainty, opsomania points to a narrowing of the self. It is a fixation that replaces the richness of relational life with a single glowing lure. In this sense, it speaks not only to human appetites but to the deeper structure of desire itself: the temptation to give ourselves over to one pleasure, one goal, one obsession.
In Whiteheadian Terms
In the metaphysical vision of Alfred North Whitehead, this metaphor gains even more depth. For Whitehead, every actual entity—or moment of experience—has a subjective aim, a kind of inward appetition toward a satisfying intensity of becoming. When that aim becomes overly narrow or rigid, when it clings too tightly to one possibility, it results in a constricted process of becoming. The outcome is not heightened satisfaction but diminished depth: a loss of contrast, a thinning of beauty, an impoverishment of experience. Opsomania, in this view, becomes not just a psychological failure but an aesthetic and existential one. It is a failure of orchestration, of imaginative width.
Aesthetic & Ethical Implications
Metaphorically, opsomania critiques many of the pathologies of modern culture: the hyper-individualism of consumer desire, the dogmatism of ideological purity, the insatiability of market-driven appetites. It cautions against reducing life to a singular aim, a solitary dish. It reminds us that beauty—and perhaps sanity—arises from contrast, not uniformity; from wholeness, not obsession.
To be "opsomaniacal" is not just to crave too much. It is to crave too little of the world, too little of the possible. It is to reject the varied table of experience for a single dish, however rich. And in doing so, it resists the deeper lure: the call toward harmony, contrast, and relational fullness.
The Craving for Certainty and the One Solution
One of the most subtle and culturally sanctioned forms of metaphorical opsomania is the craving for certainty—especially the kind that reduces complexity to a single explanation or solution. This is not merely an intellectual preference; it is an existential appetite: the desire to no longer be troubled by ambiguity, to have life sewn up, final, and closed.
This craving expresses itself in the pursuit of "the one solution"—the one political ideology, the one economic model, the one theology, the one diagnostic label, the one person who will save us. It offers relief from the burdens of nuance and the responsibilities of thought. But in doing so, it sacrifices the very thing that makes life dynamic and creative: the presence of real alternatives.
In Whiteheadian terms, this kind of craving is a distortion of the subjective aim. It flattens the field of potential contrasts and possibilities into a single path. It exchanges the open-endedness of becoming for the stillness of finality. It is, in effect, a metaphysical form of opsomania: the soul’s surrender to a totalizing delicacy.
What is lost in this craving is not only truth, but freedom—the freedom to respond, to evolve, to live in the richness of an unfinished world.
The Lure of God: Beyond Opsomania
In process theology, this deeper lure has a name: God. But not the omnipotent ruler of classical theism—rather, the God of process thought is the divine lure toward richer, more harmonious forms of becoming. God is not a coercive force but a gentle guide, offering possibilities for how each moment of experience might weave together the many influences of the past into a new and creative whole.
In this vision, God is the lure beyond opsomania—the ever-present invitation to stretch beyond our fixations, our singular cravings, our obsessive attachments. The divine lure is always specific, always contextual, but never narrow. It does not eliminate desire; it widens it. It does not negate intensity; it deepens it through contrast, relationship, and beauty.
Whereas opsomania tempts us toward the illusion of fullness through one thing, the lure of God invites us toward the real fullness that comes from the orchestration of many things—from letting go of our cravings just enough to notice what else the world is offering. It is a lure toward spaciousness of soul, a widening of appetite, a richer and more plural feast.
To overcome opsomania, understood metaphorically as an excessive craving for fame, fortune, or power, a society can embrace a few key approaches. First, fostering a culture of meaningful connection and community can help individuals find fulfillment in relationships rather than external validation. Second, encouraging diverse experiences and lifelong learning can help people appreciate a broader spectrum of life, reducing the urge to fixate on narrow goals. Third, promoting values such as compassion, service, and creativity can shift societal measures of success away from material gain and toward more holistic and enriching forms of achievement. By cultivating these values, society can help individuals find balance, reducing the grip of obsessive cravings and fostering a more harmonious way of living.
I am sympathetic to opsomaniacs—those who are quietly obsessive about particular foods. The friend who drives across town for a perfect almond croissant, the aunt who insists on one specific brand of olive oil, the philosopher who won’t eat breakfast without exactly two figs and a slice of goat cheese. There’s something tender, even endearing, about these fixations. They speak to a kind of longing—for familiarity, for pleasure, for that one thing that makes the meal feel right.
The word opsomania finds its roots in classical Greek, and the Oxford English Dictionary defines it as:
“A morbid or excessive craving for a particular kind of food, especially a delicacy.”¹
Derived from opso- (ὄψον), meaning a relish or delicacy eaten with bread, and -mania (μανία), meaning madness or frenzy, the term originally carried connotations of imbalance or excess. In ancient usage, it often described someone so obsessed with a specific delicacy—fish was a common example—that they neglected the basic staples of life. Think of the gourmand who cannot enjoy a meal without his rare treat, who craves caviar but spurns the bread.
Opsomania as Metaphor
Yet opsomania has taken on a broader metaphorical life. It has become a vivid image of any obsessive craving—a desire that latches onto one thing to the exclusion of all else. Whether the object is beauty, fame, success, religious ecstasy, or intellectual certainty, opsomania points to a narrowing of the self. It is a fixation that replaces the richness of relational life with a single glowing lure. In this sense, it speaks not only to human appetites but to the deeper structure of desire itself: the temptation to give ourselves over to one pleasure, one goal, one obsession.
In Whiteheadian Terms
In the metaphysical vision of Alfred North Whitehead, this metaphor gains even more depth. For Whitehead, every actual entity—or moment of experience—has a subjective aim, a kind of inward appetition toward a satisfying intensity of becoming. When that aim becomes overly narrow or rigid, when it clings too tightly to one possibility, it results in a constricted process of becoming. The outcome is not heightened satisfaction but diminished depth: a loss of contrast, a thinning of beauty, an impoverishment of experience. Opsomania, in this view, becomes not just a psychological failure but an aesthetic and existential one. It is a failure of orchestration, of imaginative width.
Aesthetic & Ethical Implications
Metaphorically, opsomania critiques many of the pathologies of modern culture: the hyper-individualism of consumer desire, the dogmatism of ideological purity, the insatiability of market-driven appetites. It cautions against reducing life to a singular aim, a solitary dish. It reminds us that beauty—and perhaps sanity—arises from contrast, not uniformity; from wholeness, not obsession.
To be "opsomaniacal" is not just to crave too much. It is to crave too little of the world, too little of the possible. It is to reject the varied table of experience for a single dish, however rich. And in doing so, it resists the deeper lure: the call toward harmony, contrast, and relational fullness.
The Craving for Certainty and the One Solution
One of the most subtle and culturally sanctioned forms of metaphorical opsomania is the craving for certainty—especially the kind that reduces complexity to a single explanation or solution. This is not merely an intellectual preference; it is an existential appetite: the desire to no longer be troubled by ambiguity, to have life sewn up, final, and closed.
This craving expresses itself in the pursuit of "the one solution"—the one political ideology, the one economic model, the one theology, the one diagnostic label, the one person who will save us. It offers relief from the burdens of nuance and the responsibilities of thought. But in doing so, it sacrifices the very thing that makes life dynamic and creative: the presence of real alternatives.
In Whiteheadian terms, this kind of craving is a distortion of the subjective aim. It flattens the field of potential contrasts and possibilities into a single path. It exchanges the open-endedness of becoming for the stillness of finality. It is, in effect, a metaphysical form of opsomania: the soul’s surrender to a totalizing delicacy.
What is lost in this craving is not only truth, but freedom—the freedom to respond, to evolve, to live in the richness of an unfinished world.
The Lure of God: Beyond Opsomania
In process theology, this deeper lure has a name: God. But not the omnipotent ruler of classical theism—rather, the God of process thought is the divine lure toward richer, more harmonious forms of becoming. God is not a coercive force but a gentle guide, offering possibilities for how each moment of experience might weave together the many influences of the past into a new and creative whole.
In this vision, God is the lure beyond opsomania—the ever-present invitation to stretch beyond our fixations, our singular cravings, our obsessive attachments. The divine lure is always specific, always contextual, but never narrow. It does not eliminate desire; it widens it. It does not negate intensity; it deepens it through contrast, relationship, and beauty.
Whereas opsomania tempts us toward the illusion of fullness through one thing, the lure of God invites us toward the real fullness that comes from the orchestration of many things—from letting go of our cravings just enough to notice what else the world is offering. It is a lure toward spaciousness of soul, a widening of appetite, a richer and more plural feast.
To overcome opsomania, understood metaphorically as an excessive craving for fame, fortune, or power, a society can embrace a few key approaches. First, fostering a culture of meaningful connection and community can help individuals find fulfillment in relationships rather than external validation. Second, encouraging diverse experiences and lifelong learning can help people appreciate a broader spectrum of life, reducing the urge to fixate on narrow goals. Third, promoting values such as compassion, service, and creativity can shift societal measures of success away from material gain and toward more holistic and enriching forms of achievement. By cultivating these values, society can help individuals find balance, reducing the grip of obsessive cravings and fostering a more harmonious way of living.