A Philosophy of Desire

• To Live in Flashes
• Frédéric Lenoir

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„What would a life be worth without desires? It's their variety and intensity that drive us to act and give us the feeling of being fully alive.“ To desire to live is not simply to be alive. It's about letting ourselves be carried along by the vital impulse that drives us to create, to love, to surpass ourselves. It's about cultivating the power of desire that drives our lives. Yet, in our daily lives, we feel many limitations – „I can't do it“, „It's too risky“, „It's not for you“ – that inhibit us. We are often also prisoners of the impulses of our primary brain, the striatum, and of consumerist propaganda that pushes us to acquire more and more. How can we cultivate the power of desire without falling into the trap of permanent dissatisfaction or social mimicry? How can we develop our vital power without censoring ourselves? How can we learn to direct our desires towards things, activities or people that make us grow and bring us joy? From Plato to René Girard, via Buddha, Aristotle, Epicurus, Spinoza, Nietzsche, Jung and Bergson, Frédéric Lenoir revisits the great thinkers on desire to present us with a lucid and vibrant book, embodied in our most topical issues. A book accessible to all, that helps us not only to live, but to live brilliantly.

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The desire to turn to what is essential, to make quality more important than quantity, to limit our primary desires in favor of desires that allow us to realize ourselves as a being, respecting others and our planet, shows us that Plato's desire as a lack is not the only driver of life. There is also another form of desire, which is neither the result of lack, nor is it encouraged by our primary brain: the desire to grow, to realize ourselves, to be ourselves, to succeed in rejoicing rather than enjoying.

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Desire is therefore the „human essence“ and the driver of our lives: our satisfaction with life depends on the way we nurture and direct it. But the survival of our society also depends on the correct direction of our desires, and this cannot happen if they are not ultimately directed by respect for life, care for others and the search for truth. That is why it is more than ever necessary to be aware of our desires: this is certainly the biggest challenge of our era.

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In order to grow in joy, it is therefore necessary to nurture desire, because it represents an urge that helps us increase our life force. But not by any means! Because if desire in itself is neither good nor bad, if it is a force essential for our growth, it can lead us to sadness or to joy, to happiness or to unhappiness, depending on which persons or objects we direct it towards. If we direct our desires towards ideas, things, people or foods that are good for us, that are in good harmony with our unique nature, then enjoying these things and beings will increase our life force and bring us joy. Conversely, if we direct our desires toward things and beings that do not agree well with who we are, their possession or association with them will sooner or later cause sorrow, because it will diminish our ability to act and our life force.

• ISBN: 978-953-369-048-3
• Dimensions: 128x200 mm
• Number of pages: 192
• Cover: paperback
• Year of the edition: 2024
• Original title: Le désir, une philosophie. Vivre aux éclats
• Original language: French
• Translation: Dubravka Celebrini