What if every right you possess—from free speech to privacy—is actually based on a form of desire? And what if our new socio-technological conditions necessitate the protection of new rights, such as the “right to attention?”

In this dialogue, Dr. Marc Gafni and Dr. Zak Stein explore the fundamental nature of desire, unveiling it not as something merely psychological, but as an ontological principle that underpins rights, needs and values.

They establish a central thesis of CosmoErotic Humanism: that clarified desire equals value, and that a clarified first principle or value is a right.

The conversation highlights the inseparable link between rights and responsibilities, bringing profound implications for creating a society that honors human dignity rather than one that manufactures and exploits desire.

Note on Source Material and Citation

The material covered in this podcast is drawn from two forthcoming volumes published by the World Philosophy and Religion Press:

1. Reconstructing Value & Preserving Human Freedom in the Age of Artificial Intelligence: Exit the Silicon Maze, Vol. 1

2. Attention: First Principle, First Value, and Human Right

If you deploy any material from this episode, please cite directly using the following reference:

Temple, David J., Conversations with David J. Temple, World Philosophy and Religion Press, November 2025, Episode: “The Nature of Desire.”

About the Authorial Voice of David J. Temple

David J. Temple is a pseudonym created for enabling ongoing collaborative authorship between Dr. Marc Gafni, Dr. Zak Stein and Ken Wilber at the Center for World Philosophy and Religion, a leading international think tank whose mission is to address existential risk by articulating a shared universal Story of Value for global intimacy and global coordination. The Center focuses its work on a world philosophy, Cosmo-Erotic Humanism, as the ground for a global vision of value, economics, politics, and spiritual coherence.

Get the book: "First Principles and First Values: Forty-Two Propositions on CosmoErotic Humanism, the Meta-Crisis, and the World to Come" - https://www.amazon.com/First-Principles-Values-Propositions-CosmoErotic-ebook/dp/B0CWYDGFZY

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