What will I learn about: why your desires are rarely your own by exploring the theory of mimetic desire, which reveals how we subconsciously imitate what other people want?

Discover why your desires are rarely your own by exploring the theory of mimetic desire, which reveals how we subconsciously imitate what other people want.

What will I learn about: how the subconscious drive to imitate others compels sameness and fuels intense, sometimes dangerous rivalries in our personal and professional lives?

Understand how the subconscious drive to imitate others compels sameness and fuels intense, sometimes dangerous rivalries in our personal and professional lives.

What will I learn about: take back control of your decision-making by identifying and naming the hidden models who influence you, especially the peers you least want to see succeed?

Learn how to take back control of your decision-making by identifying and naming the hidden models who influence you, especially the peers you least want to see succeed.

What will I learn about: how businesses and PR experts manipulate mimetic desire to sell products by using trusted figures, like doctors, to subtly shape your consumer habits?

Find out how businesses and PR experts manipulate mimetic desire to sell products by using trusted figures, like doctors, to subtly shape your consumer habits.

What will I learn about: the distinction between distant models in 'Celebristan' who inspire safely, and close peers in 'Freshmanistan' who trap you in toxic cycles of jealousy and competition?

Master the distinction between distant models in 'Celebristan' who inspire safely, and close peers in 'Freshmanistan' who trap you in toxic cycles of jealousy and competition.

Wanting

The Power of Mimetic Desire in Everyday Life

Luke Burgis

★ 4.5 / 5(137 ratings)

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Categories:

Philosophy Psychology

If You're Curious About These Questions...

You should listen to this audiobook

💡Have you ever wondered why you suddenly want the exact same things as everyone else, from your career path to your lifestyle choices?
💡Did you know that your deepest desires might not actually be yours at all, but rather a reflection of the people you admire most?
💡What's the secret to breaking free from the cycle of comparison and finally choosing the goals that will lead to genuine fulfillment?

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Key Takeaways from Wanting

✓Discover why your desires are rarely your own by exploring the theory of mimetic desire, which reveals how we subconsciously imitate what other people want.
✓Understand how the subconscious drive to imitate others compels sameness and fuels intense, sometimes dangerous rivalries in our personal and professional lives.
✓Learn how to take back control of your decision-making by identifying and naming the hidden models who influence you, especially the peers you least want to see succeed.
✓Find out how businesses and PR experts manipulate mimetic desire to sell products by using trusted figures, like doctors, to subtly shape your consumer habits.
✓Master the distinction between distant models in 'Celebristan' who inspire safely, and close peers in 'Freshmanistan' who trap you in toxic cycles of jealousy and competition.

Learning Tools

Reinforce what you learned from Wanting

Mind Map

Wanting

The Nature of Mimetic Desire+

The Two Worlds of Models+

Mimetic Crises & Conflict+

Escaping Mimetic Systems+

Transforming Desire in Leadership & Life+

Quiz — Test Your Understanding

Question 1 of 10

What is the core premise of René Girard's theory of mimetic desire?

A. Human desires are biologically hardwired from birth.
B. We learn what to desire by imitating the desires of others.
C. Desires are spontaneously generated based on our individual personalities.
D. People inherently desire things that are scarce or forbidden.

Question 2 of 10

According to the author, what is a highly effective way to identify your mimetic models and diminish their power over you?

A. Think about the people you least want to see succeed.
B. List the historical figures you admire the most.
C. Analyze the targeted advertisements you click on most frequently.
D. Take a personality test to uncover your intrinsic motivations.

Question 3 of 10

Why do models in 'Celebristan' (like Julia Child or Jeff Bezos) NOT pose a psychological threat to us?

A. They are usually fictional characters rather than real people.
B. They openly share their secrets to success, eliminating competition.
C. They exist outside our social sphere and we know we cannot directly compete with them.
D. They are primarily focused on thick desires rather than thin desires.

Question 4 of 10

What is a major danger of 'Freshmanistan,' as illustrated by the 1990s rivalry between East and West Coast rappers?

A. It causes people to openly imitate celebrities instead of their peers.
B. It traps people in self-defeating cycles of negative reflexivity and intense rivalry.
C. It prevents people from finding suitable mentors in their industry.
D. It forces individuals to pursue artificial goals like awards and money.

Question 5 of 10

How did Ferruccio Lamborghini successfully prevent his rivalry with Ferrari from spiraling out of control?

A. He bought out Ferrari's company to eliminate the competition.
B. He publicly scapegoated Ferrari's mechanics for the faulty clutches.
C. He shifted his focus entirely back to manufacturing tractors.
D. He refused his engineers' pleas to produce a racing car, intentionally ending the rivalry.

Question 6 of 10

According to Girard, what is the historical purpose of the 'scapegoating mechanism' (such as the Greek pharmakos)?

A. To release the built-up tension of a mimetic crisis and restore social harmony.
B. To punish criminals in a way that deters future crimes.
C. To identify the true scientific source of a natural disaster or plague.
D. To provide an opportunity for transcendent leaders to emerge.

Question 7 of 10

Why did chef Sébastien Bras ask to have his restaurant removed from the Michelin guide?

A. He wanted to start a rivalry with other local chefs who lacked Michelin stars.
B. He realized it was a toxic mimetic system forcing him to conform to artificial goals.
C. He felt the guide was engineering his customers' desires rather than reflecting true quality.
D. He wanted to use the publicity of leaving the guide to attract more international tourists.

Question 8 of 10

What distinguishes a 'transcendent leader' from an 'immanent leader'?

A. Transcendent leaders focus heavily on internal office politics, while immanent leaders ignore them.
B. Transcendent leaders rely on the scapegoating mechanism to unite their teams.
C. Transcendent leaders model desire toward external, greater goals, whereas immanent leaders focus on internal, low-stakes models.
D. Transcendent leaders engineer their employees' desires using data, while immanent leaders transform them through empathy.

Question 9 of 10

Which of the following is an example of a 'thick desire'?

A. Wanting to win a prestigious industry award.
B. The core drive to explore life’s big questions or spend time with family.
C. Craving a higher salary than your closest coworker.
D. Buying a sports car because a friend recently bought one.

Question 10 of 10

How do major tech companies like Google, Facebook, Amazon, and Apple typically interact with our desires?

A. They transform our thick desires into transcendent goals.
B. They act as residents of Freshmanistan to create direct rivalries with consumers.
C. They utilize empathy to disrupt mimetic crises online.
D. They engineer our desires by using our data to feed our thin desires for status and objects.

Wanting — Full Chapter Overview

1Recommendation
2Mimesis shapes everything we desire.
3Models are everywhere, and naming them reduces their power.
4Models influence us differently depending on whether they’re inside or outside our social world.
5Mimesis can become a positive cycle, as long as someone eventually ends it.
6Mimetic crises end only when a scapegoat is identified and punished.
7Mimetic systems tie us to artificial, unfulfilling goals.
8Business leaders need to consider how they shape people’s desires.
9Empathy interrupts mimetic crises and starts positive cycles of desire.
10We need to move away from engineering desire and toward transforming it.
11Final summary

Wanting Summary & Overview

Wanting (2021) provides a riveting, philosophical answer to the question Why do we want the things we want? Drawing on theories originally developed by the celebrated polymath René Girard, it reveals an uncomfortable truth: that our desires are all ultimately a product of other people’s desires. The point isn’t to eliminate them,⁠ but rather to choose, carefully and consciously, which ones we should actually strive for.

Who Should Listen to Wanting?

Lovers of philosophy, psychology, and literature
Dedicated self-improvers
Young entrepreneurs and business leaders

About the Author: Luke Burgis

Luke Burgis is an entrepreneur who founded and ran four start-up companies before deciding to course-correct and travel to Italy to study philosophy, theology, and literature. He is now the Entrepreneur-in-Residence and Director of Programs at the Catholic University of America.

Wanting

If You're Curious About These Questions...

Listen to Wanting — Free Audiobook

Key Takeaways from Wanting

Learning Tools

Mind Map

Quiz — Test Your Understanding

Wanting — Full Chapter Overview

Wanting Summary & Overview

Who Should Listen to Wanting?

About the Author: Luke Burgis

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