Yes, we can frame it that way:
• Need is elemental and humble → It is rooted in biological survival and fundamental existence. It is simple, direct, and non-deceptive. When you’re hungry, you need food—there is no illusion about it.
• Desire is real but fake → It is psychologically real (we truly feel it), but it is also structured by illusion, shaped by symbolic systems, social expectations, and unconscious fantasies.
1. Why Desire is “Real but Fake”
• Real → We experience desire intensely—it drives us, shapes our identities, and motivates action.
• Fake → It never leads to full satisfaction; it shifts from object to object, creating the illusion that “the next thing” will finally fulfill us.
Example:
• Need: You are thirsty, you drink water, thirst disappears.
• Desire: You don’t just want water; you want a specific brand, in a glass bottle, in a certain setting, with the right people—and even when you get it, desire moves elsewhere.
2. This Aligns with Your Thought on Van Life
• Van life honors need → You need shelter, food, and movement, but in a humble, elemental way (not in excess).
• It questions desire → It resists the capitalist illusion that accumulation leads to meaning, but it also acknowledges that desire is part of human existence (perhaps a desire for freedom, for the open road).
Would you say your approach is about reducing desire to something closer to elemental need, or is it about finding a form of desire that aligns with the humility of need?
