On Desire Why We Want What We Want

by Irvine, William B.

• ISBN13: 9780195327076
• ISBN10: 0195327071
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2007-06-18
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

A married person falls deeply in love with someone else. A man of average income feels he cannot be truly happy unless he owns an expensive luxury car. A dieter has an irresistible craving for ice cream. Desires often come to us unbidden and unwanted, and they can have a dramatic impact, sometimes changing the course of our lives. In On Desire, William B. Irvine takes us on a wide-ranging tour of our impulses, wants, and needs, showing us where these feelings come from and how we can try to rein them in. Spicing his account with engaging observations by writers like Seneca, Tolstoy, and Freud, Irvine considers the teachings of Buddhists, Hindus, the Amish, Shakers, and Catholic saints, as well as those of ancient Greek and Roman and modern European philosophers. Irvine also looks at what modern science can tell us about desire--such as what happens in the brain when we desire something and how animals evolved particular desires--and he advances a new theory about how desire itself evolved. Irvine also suggests that at the same time that we gained the ability to desire, we were "programmed" to find some things more desirable than others. Irvine concludes that the best way to attain lasting happiness is not to change the world around us or our place in it, but to change ourselves. If we can convince ourselves to want what we already have, we can dramatically enhance our happiness. Brimming with wisdom and practical advice, On Desire offers a thoughtful approach to controlling unwanted passions and attaining a more meaningful life.

Author Biography

William B. Irvine is Professor of Philosophy at Wright State University, in Dayton, Ohio.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. ix
Introduction	p. 1
The Secret Life of Desire
The Ebb and Flow of Desire	p. 11
Other People	p. 31
The Science of Desire
Mapping Our Desires	p. 55
The Wellsprings of Desire	p. 68
The Psychology of Desire	p. 91
The Evolution of Desire	p. 120
The Biological Incentive System	p. 145
Dealing with Our Desires
The Human Condition	p. 175
Religious Advice	p. 182
Religious Advice Continued: Protestant Sects	p. 211
Philosophical Advice	p. 238
The Eccentrics	p. 258
Conclusions	p. 279
Notes	p. 298
Works Cited	p. 309
Index	p. 316
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