Thick Desires, Political Atheism, and Living an Anti-Mimetic Life
The Art of Manliness
The Art of Manliness
4.7 ā¢ 14.8K Ratings
šļø 10 July 2023
ā±ļø 44 minutes
šļø Recording | iTunes | RSS
š§¾ļø Download transcript
Summary
The last time we had entrepreneur, professor, and author Luke Burgis on the show, he discussedĀ the concept of mimetic desire, which says that we want theĀ things we want because other people want them. Since that time, Luke has continued to explore the idea of mimesis, and how to resist its negative consequences, in his Substack: Anti-Mimetic. Today on the show, Luke and I dig into these ideas and discuss ways we can step outside the tempo, cadences, and priorities that the world would foist upon us and establish our own rhythms for our lives. Luke unpacks what it means to have āthick desiresā and become a āpolitical atheistā and how these concepts can help you live a more anti-mimetic life.
Resources Related to the Podcast- Wanting: The Power of Mimetic Desire in Everyday LifeĀ by Luke Burgis
- Lukeās previous appearance on the AoM podcast: EpisodeĀ #714 ā Why Do We Want What We Want?
- Leisure: The Basis of CultureĀ by Josef PieperĀ
- Deceit, Desire, and the NovelĀ by RenĆ© Girard
- The Red and the BlackĀ by Stendhal
- AoM Article: What Do You Want to Want?
- AoM Article: Freedom Fromā¦Freedom To
- AoM Podcast #215: Becoming an Individual in an Age of Distraction With Matthew Crawford
- AoM Podcast #796: The Life Weāre Looking For
- AoM Podcast #847: Overdoing Democracy
- Sunday Firesides: Not Everything Is Political
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Brut McKay here and welcome to another edition of the Art of Manliness Podcast. |
| 0:11.6 | The last time we had entrepreneur, professor and author Luke Burgess on the show, he discussed |
| 0:16.2 | the concept of memetic desire, which said that we want the things we want because other |
| 0:21.0 | people want them. |
| 0:22.6 | Since that time, Luke has continued to explore this idea of Mimesis and how to resist its |
| 0:26.5 | negative consequences in its sub-stack anti-mimetic. |
| 0:30.0 | Today on the show, Luke and I dig into these ideas. |
| 0:32.6 | Discuss ways we can step outside the tempo, the cadences and priorities that the world |
| 0:36.4 | would voice upon us and establish our own rhythms for our lives. |
| 0:40.8 | Luke impacts what it means to have thick desires and become a political atheist, and how these |
| 0:45.2 | concepts can help you live a more anti-mimetic life. |
| 0:48.5 | After the show's over, check out our show notes at a-wim.is slash anti-mimetic. |
| 0:56.5 | Alright, Luke Burgess, welcome back to the show. |
| 1:15.0 | Hey, Brett, good to be back. |
| 1:17.4 | So we had you on the podcast a few years ago to talk about your book Wanting, which introduces |
| 1:22.8 | readers to a theory of why we want the things we want, and this theory is called memetic |
| 1:29.2 | desire. |
| 1:30.2 | And the reason I wanted to bring you back on the show is because since you've published |
| 1:33.8 | your book, you've gone on to explore different ideas that seem to, they're like, they're |
| 1:39.6 | offshoots of you grappling with this idea of memetic desire. |
| 1:44.2 | So I think before we start our conversation today, so we can explore these offshoots, I |
| 1:48.6 | think it'd be helpful for people who aren't familiar with memetic desire. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from The Art of Manliness, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of The Art of Manliness and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright Ā© Tapesearch 2026.