On Desire: Why We Want What We Want

This book was worth the wait. I have searched for a book like this since I was seventeen years old. Back in 1972, when I was a junior in high school, I was disgusted by the BS in the church and went in search of my own truth. In response to my search as a gullible and naive teenager, I joined a non-denominational group, which turned out to be a religious cult. This book, ON DESIRE, explains to me the why I want what I want and why others do what they do. He strongly urges us to stop, think, explore our own reasons for who we allow in our lives and what we allow ourselves to think about. In my view, we have to be the traffic cop to our souls and this book shows me how. (See pages 118-119).

A former professor of mine recommended this book to me, and I actually read it twice in a row. It's incredibly lucid for a philosophy text; Irvine's style is gentle and meditative, but sharp, and the book has plenty of relatable, real-world examples of what he's talking about woven through it. Irvine seems to ultimately side with Buddha, Epictetus, and many other thinkers who concur that mastering desire is the key to lasting happiness. But Irvine's perspective is, of course, that of a 21st century human being, so perhaps this book is easier to take than a canonical text. It's not as heavy as it looks. A thought-provoking but not brain-crushing read.

Actually this book reminds me a bit of Alain De Botton's excellent books on philosophers the Consolations of Philosophy and How Proust Save My Life, but without the humour these books tickle you with. At the same time it is refreshing that Irvine does not take himself too seriously. he never gets int he way of his very absorbing topic. I quit smoking while reading this book. and now i know why. ha!

If you're looking for a "philosophy" book that is practical, this book is a welcome addition. Reminiscent of the Ancient Schools of Philosophy - i.e. those that believed that philosophy should make a practical difference in your life, this book provides a comprehensive overview of desire along with some thoughts that may lessen our slavery. If there is one shortcoming, it comes from the fact that because the author covers so much ground, much of it is covered at a very surface level. It would have been helpful if the author could have included a "For Further Reading" section at the end of each chapter. However, when all is said, the value of this work is that it has organized and synthesized the topic and makes you think about what really is driving your behavior.

How rare is it to read a book that is at once intellectually provocative truly original, accessibly and gracefully written, and relevant to everyday life? In "On Desire," William Irvine has done all of that and more. An academic philosopher by training, he's had the courage to write a book about how to live-- something most philosophers wouldn't think of doing. Irvine's subject is the primary impulse that drives and bedevils nearly all of us throughout our lives. We don't spend a lot of time thinking about desire (largely because we're too busy feeling captive to it) but Irvine has looked at it from multiple angles including science, religion, and philosophy,. If unmet desire is a leitmotif in your life (and in whose isn't it?), this book will give you a whole new way of looking at how to tame your impulsive passions without retiring to a cave or renouncing life's pleasures altogether.