Luke Burgis - Wanting - The Power of Mimetic Desire in Everyday Life

Thoughts on Record: Podcast of the Ottawa Institute of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy

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Psychological suffering appears to be greatly facilitated by unfavourable comparisons that we make between ourselves and others in many domains of life. However, there are surprising dynamics (and even upsides) to these comparisons or modelling depending on the context. Entrepreneur & author, Mr. Luke Burgis, joins us for a discussion of the themes in his widely acclaimed book Wanting - The Power of Mimetic Desire in Everyday Life. In this discussion we cover:

• important experiences in Luke's journey that led to him to want to write the book “Wanting”
• the difference between wanting vs. liking
• a brief summary of René Girard’s theory of “mimetic desire”—that is, the idea that most human wanting comes from imitating the desires of others and that each of us is surrounded by people who generate, shape, and manipulate our desires
• a consideration of the common challenges (and upsides) of mimetic desire embedded in everyday life, including of identity formation
• dynamics related to whether the “model” of imitation is near (a next door neighbour) or far (a celebrity) and how this distance influences whether a model of imitation will spark desire/inspiration vs jealously/conflict
• the delicate dance that leaders must manage with respect to inspiring but also not inciting jealously & conflict
• exploration of the notion that scapegoating & blame are common, but pathological ways of stopping the cycle of mimetic conflict
• consideration of the impact of social media on psychological well being through the lens of mimetic desire
• "thin" vs. "thick" desires and the implications for meaningfulness in life
• how to foster motivation, move humanity forward and pursue excellence/achievement without unleashing cycles of mimetic desire that lead to competition and conflict

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Host note: We will be offering a 6 week essentials of CBT workshop that I will be facilitating beginning March 24, 2023. For more information and registration, please visit: https://www.ottawacbt.ca/news Please come join us!
Bio: Luke Burgis has co-created and led four companies in wellness, consumer products, and technology. He’s currently Entrepreneur-in-Residence and Director of Programs at the Ciocca Center for Principled Entrepreneurship where he also teaches business at The Catholic University of America. Luke has helped form and serves on the board of several new K-12 education initiatives and writes and speaks regularly about the education of desire. He studied business at NYU Stern and philosophy and theology at a pontifical university in Rome. He’s Managing Partner 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. He lives in Washington, DC with his wife, Claire.

https://lukeburgis.com/
@lukeburgis