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Wanting

The Power of Mimetic Desire, and How to Want What You Need

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Wanting

By: Luke Burgis
Narrated by: Luke Burgis, Sean Patrick Hopkins
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About this listen

A groundbreaking exploration of why we want what we want, and a toolkit for freeing ourselves from chasing unfulfilling desires.

Humans don't desire anything independently. Human desire is mimetic - we imitate what other people want. This affects the way we choose partners, friends, careers, clothes and travel destinations. Mimetic desire is responsible for the formation of our very identities. It explains the enduring relevancy of Shakespeare's plays, why Peter Thiel decided to be the first investor in Facebook, and why our world is growing more divided as it becomes more connected.

Drawing on his experience as an entrepreneur, teacher and student of classical philosophy, Luke Burgis shares tactics that help turn blind wanting into intentional wanting - to be more in control of the things we want, and to find more meaning in our work and lives.

©2021 Faber & Faber (P)2021 Faber & Faber Personal Development Personal Success Psychology Psychology & Mental Health Social Psychology & Interactions
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This is exactly the book I had been waiting for to introduce others to memetic theory. I’ve read a number of books on the topic including summaries as well as Girard himself, but always struggled to find a resource I could recommend to others as an accessible starting point to learn about memetic theory. This book does a great job of summarising the key components of the theory and gives some practical ways to apply it to your life.

Luke Burgis introduces some of his own developments to put the theory into practice. He mainly does this through providing tactics to overcome negative effects of memesis and live a good life by figuring out what is worth wanting.

I enjoyed his personal anecdotes as well as the range of examples he draws on to illustrate his points, especially the contemporary ones such as Tesla and COVID-19.

I’m not sure if everyone will find the entrepreneurial bent of some chapters as appealing as others, nor am I 100% sold on all of the techniques recommended to overcome weak desires, but these are very minor reservations. Overall I am glad this book exists and I am already recommending it to others.

A great entry point to memetic theory

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Girard’s Mimetic theory is one of the most important in psychology. But as pivotal as it is, its not easy to figure out what to do with such a deep insight and it’s ramifications.

Luke shows himself to have deep understanding by simplifying Girard’s concepts and offering the reader practical applications for a living a more meaningful life. If you want to understand yourself and the world better, Girard’s work is a non negotiable, and this book is an excellent synopsis and field guide.

Practical take on a profound idea

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Another book that heavily relies on the trend of pulling put key stories featured in other popular books from the last 5-10 years to pad out its chapters.
Starts off interesting but fades very quickly. Spends a lot of time repeating itself and telling the same insight using different analogies and examples.
Super interesting topic overall but this didn't really leave me feeling that it had learned much new. I guess it did lay a foundation to seek out more if anything, but this is the type of book that you'd likely get all the nuggets listening to the author on a podcast for 30min than spending 7 hours of audio book on.

Starts strong and then disappears

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