Desire, a philosophy

Presentation

“What would a life be worth without desires? It is their variety and intensity that drives us to action and makes us feel fully alive. »

To desire to live is not simply to be alive. It's letting ourselves be carried away by the vital impulse that leads us to create, to love, to surpass ourselves. It is cultivating the power of desire which is the motor of our existence. However, on a daily basis, we feel many limitations – “I can't do it”, “It's too risky”, “It's not for you” – which inhibit us. We are often also prisoners of the impulses of our primary brain, the striatum , and consumerist propaganda that push us to acquire more and more.
How to cultivate the strength of desire without falling into the trap of permanent dissatisfaction or social mimicry? How can we develop our vital power without self-censoring? 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 or Bergson, Frédéric Lenoir revisits the great thinkers of desire to offer us a lucid and vibrant book, embodied in our most current issues. A work accessible to all, which helps not only to live, but to live to the bursts.

• Flammarion, November 9, 2022 – 240 pages

EAN: 9782080415806
ISBN: 9782080415806

Media

France 2 – “What a time!” hosted by Léa Salamé
Replay of the show broadcast on November 5, 2022