Desire

Desire and Disgust Part 1

This article and the next we look at desire and disgust. The things we desire and the things that disgust us can tell us about ourselves. How are we to respond to attraction on the one hand and aversion on the other?

Let’s look at desire.

Reflection

Magritte, La Belle Société, from a photo taken at SFMOMA, 2018.

We desire many things. Classic examples are wealth, fame, sex and power. Often desiring these - or at least, desiring them too much - is seen as a bad thing. It is either immoral or, at the very least, harmful, to fixate on these desires.

But there are also more permissible desires. The desire to love and to be loved. To see others flourish and to play a part in that. The desire for deep connection, for purpose, for meaning. All of these are often considered favourably. It is fine to desire these things - as much as you want.

I find it hard to understand why we discriminate in this way. I prefer to think about desire in itself and separately from the things desired. It seems to me t…