309. The Roots of Our Desires feat. Luke Burgis

Where do our desires come from? Babies don’t come into this world with an inherent drive to found tech companies. How much do our environment and the people around us shape those wants? 

Luke Burgis is an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at The Catholic University of America and is the author of Wanting: The Power of Mimetic Desire in Everyday Life, which expands on the mimetic theory of René Girard's. He also co-authored the book, Unrepeatable: Cultivating the Unique Calling of Every Person, which explores how to find one’s true vocation in life. 

Luke and Greg discuss why so many of our desires come from imitating those around us, the difference between thick vs. thin desires, and how true vocations in life should transcend just a job. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The importance of developing the habit of being present 

47:41: We need to learn that skill of being present because we're always on all the time, social media phones. And when I say on, I mean we live in a world where everything is recorded. Everything is on stage; all the world's a stage, as Shakespeare said. So stepping off that stage from time to time doesn't necessarily mean going on a silent retreat, as I have. I've been very lucky to have had the opportunity to go on those. Sometimes it just means stepping off that stage and just being alone with ourselves and the people that are close to us.

The moving goalpost is a real problem for mimesis

33:23: The moving goalpost problem is a real problem when it comes to mimesis, especially when we're not clear about what the objectives are.

Social media and how it made all of us into internal mediators for one another

26:43: Social media, it's called the town square. But in a sense, it's made all of us into internal mediators for one another. We can all interact. It's narrowed the space—the existential space—between us and just made it a lot easier to assimilate ideas. It seems like we're all kind of living in each other's heads.

What does it mean to have a personal vocation that is unrepeatable?

53:22: ​​A vocation is something intensely personal. And that, you know, is mine because of my unique, created nature because of my time and unique circumstances that I've been born into. My unique family, the people that I encounter on a daily basis, and my personal vocation will be different than anybody else's who's ever lived.

Show Links:Recommended Resources:

• René Girard
• Ignatius of Loyola
• Chef Sebastien Bras
• I See Satan Fall Like Lightning by René Girard

Guest Profile:

• Faculty Profile at The Catholic University of America
• Luke Burgis' Website
• Luke Burgis on LinkedIn
• Luke Burgis on Twitter

His Work:

• Wanting: The Power of Mimetic Desire in Everyday Life
• Unrepeatable: Cultivating the Unique Calling of Every Person