Everything that we desire is somehow conditioned, to use the buddhist term, in that it arose as a result of conditions. The conditions that you're saying are imitative. It was modelled for us, right? And if we look hard enough, and we become aware of this feature of human desire, we can usually always find a hidden model for something that that we desire. My goal really is just to get us thinking, as individuals and also as a society, how this is affecting our behaviour.
Luke Burgis is an entrepreneur who has founded and led multiple companies. He is currently Director of Programs at The Center for Principled Entrepreneurship at the Catholic University of America. He is also the founder and Director of Fourth Wall Ventures, an incubator that he started to build, train, and invest in people and companies that contribute to a healthy human ecology.
In this episode, Eric and Luke discuss his book, Wanting: The Power of Mimetic Desire in Everyday Life
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In This Interview, Luke Burgis and I Discuss Mimetic Desires in Everyday Life and …
- His book, Wanting: The Power of Mimetic Desire in Everyday Life
- Human desires and how they apply to the wolf parable
- Mimetic desire refers to how we imitate the desires of other people
- How particular modeled desires come from a sense of lack
- The importance of understanding that our desires are driven by imitation
- Learning to exercise more freedom in what we desire
- Desire is the energy of movement toward or away from something
- Anti-mimetic desire is having the ability to not engage in what you desire
- The differences between thin and thick desires
- The paradox of desires and values: “Do we desire what we value or do we value what we desire?”
- Recognizing the hierarchy of our values and evaluating our desires accordingly
- A fulfillment story is sharing a personal story with someone else about something in your life that gave you enduring joy
- Understanding the social nature of our desires
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If you enjoyed this conversation with Luke Burgis, you might also enjoy these other episodes:
How to Find Zest in Life with Dr. John Kaag
Finding Zen in the Ordinary with Christopher Keevil
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