Desire as Imparted Force: A Social-Origin Hypothesis of Wanting and Connection
Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: I propose that wanting is shaped through the ways other people affect one’s existence. I retaintwo versions as the heart of the argument. The strong version claims that all desire content issocially imparted; the moderate version sets bare bodily states partly aside and concerns thecontent and strength of socially shaped wants. Needs lean toward bodily action and impulse,while wants lean toward thought-shaped objects and possibilities; this distinction is conceptual,not an established biological partition. I call the felt interpersonal draw pull and the proposedinfluence imparted force, without claiming a new physical force. Research on goal contagion,valuation, comparison, and social support motivates the account but does not establish that socialshaping is total. I distinguish experienced connection from evidence of reciprocity, compatibility,or safety, and being influenced from freely endorsing a course of action. Eight predictions andtwo proposed studies address observable consequences, including the limits of tracing a desire’ssource. A background glossary preserves my existing terminology without using it to explainaway contrary results. A brief universe/fabric analogy remains philosophical speculation. Nonew data are reported.
Author: Withington, Cole David
Institution: Portland State University
Language: English
Subfield: Applied Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7225659833
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