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Luke Burgis is an author, educator and entrepreneur who has founded and led multiple companies. He’s currently entrepreneur-in-residence and director of programs at the Ciocca Center for Principled Entrepreneurship at the Catholic University of America, where he also teaches business and develops new education initiatives. He’s the founder and director of Fourth Wall Ventures, an incubator for people and companies that contribute to the formation of a healthy human ecology. He graduated from NYU Stern School of Business and later from a pontifical university in Rome, where he studied theology. He lives in Washington, D.C., with his wife, Claire.
Do you ever wonder why you want what you want?
Our desires shape almost everything we do in life: what we value, what goals we pursue, who we choose for a romantic partner, and even what career paths we go down.
Yet very rarely do we stop to ask ourselves why we want these things.
In other words, what causes us to desire them in the first place?
In this interview I’m joined by Luke Burgis – a writer and academic who has recently published: Wanting; The Power of Mimetic Desire in Everyday Life.
In the book, Luke explores the work of René Girard and his theory of Mimetic Desire, which offers a fascinating and illuminating explanation for human desire.
In this interview, we discuss some of the key takeaways from the book, including:
And more.
If you’re interested in exploring this subject further, I highly recommend picking up a copy of “Wanting”, and you can read a summary of some of the key ideas here.
This episode is sponsored by our upcoming Day on Changing Consciousness, taking place at the University of Greenwich on 26th June, 2022.
This will be The Weekend University’s first ‘in person’ event in over two years, and it’s shaping up to be a special occasion. The lectures will focus on consciousness paradigms that go beyond the brain, how they work, why they matter, and how understanding them can enhance your everyday experience of reality, with talks on:
–> Panpsychism: Is Everything Conscious? – Dr Philip Goff, PhD
–> From Ego-Centric to Eco-Centric: Changing Consciousness through Psychedelics – Dr Sam Gandy, PhD
–> Is Reality an Illusion? – Professor Donald Hoffman, PhD (via live video link)
By attending live, you can interact with the speakers in the Q&A sessions, connect with like-minded participants during the conference, and get CPD certification.
Should you be unable to attend in person, you’ll also be able to tune in from the comfort of home with a “Livestream Pass”.
As a listener of this podcast, you can get a discount on your ticket, if you go to https://bit.ly/ccj-twu, and use the discount code: POD when registering.
