The Metaphysical Desire of Brands

Johnathan Bi is the host of a fantastic seven-part lecture series on the work of philosopher René Girard. He’s also a member of the founding team at Opto Investments. 

Auren and Johnathan discuss some of the fundamental concepts in Girard’s philosophy and how they apply to startups, venture capital, and life more broadly. They break down physical vs metaphysical desire, the power of self-delusion, and Girard's concept of zero-sum and negative-sum human interactions.

Johnathan explains what to make of Girard’s apocalyptic thoughts on the future of humanity, and makes some useful recommendations for using mimetic theory to improve your life. 

World of DaaS is brought to you by SafeGraph & Flex Capital. For more episodes, visit safegraph.com/podcasts

You can find Auren Hoffman on Twitter at @auren and Johnathan Bi on Twitter at @JohnathanBi.