Luke Burgis

Wanting

1. IDEA 1

   We borrow our desires

   Burgis draws on the French thinker René Girard to argue that most human desires are mimetic, meaning we copy them from other people. We want things largely because others we admire want them.

2. IDEA 2

   Girard explained imitation

   Burgis explains Girard's idea that people imitate each other's desires without realising it. This shapes choices from careers to purchases. In his account, people often take on a wish because someone they admire holds it, without noticing the source.

3. IDEA 3

   Models shape desire

   Burgis argues that everyone has models, people whose wants influence their own. Recognising them brings awareness. In his account, a person's models can be friends, family, celebrities or rivals. Each one quietly pulls a person's wishes in some direction.

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