What sets us in motion

Neurobiological foundations and computational modeling

Interests and motivations first unfold through neurobiological mechanisms that provide the substrate for voluntary activation and action.

The behavioral neuroscience framework proposes that motivated behaviors result from the integration of internal (physiological states, needs, expected losses/gains) and external (salient stimuli) signals in neural circuits (molecules, neurotransmitters, hormones).(ResearchGate)

Dopamine, salience-control networks and intrinsic motivation

Intrinsic interest - the spontaneous tendency to explore, to stimulate one's abilities - is supported by ancient dopaminergic systems. Recent work shows that exploratory and mastery behaviors are correlated with activities in brain networks of "salience detection", attentional control and self-referential cognition(Frontiers). In other words, the brain "invests" in what seems salient (contextually distinctive), interesting or teachable - even without explicit external reward.

A more refined model, the RGDM (Recurrent Gating Desire-Motivation) model proposed by Liu, Zhao and Chen (2020), interprets the transition from multiple desires to unified motivation as a recurrent neural network dynamic, with adjustment of intensity and selection of action direction.(arXiv)

Alternative models: active inference and intrinsic motivation

Emerging theories such as Active Inference (a logical operation by which a proposition is admitted by virtue of its connection with other propositions already held to be true) suggest that desire/motivation should not be reduced to a simple reward signal, but should be embedded in a perception-action loop in which the agent anticipates future states of the world to minimize "surprise" or uncertainty.

In this framework, intrinsic motives (curiosity, diversity, learning) emerge from an internal goal of maintaining certainty or reducing ambiguity, without the need to impose an external reward signal.(arXiv)

These approaches show that desires and motivations are not isolated entities, but dynamic, emergent processes in which the body, brain and anticipatory representation of the world co-construct a direction for action.

Psychic structures, the unconscious and symbolic construction

Beyond biological constraints, human interests and desires are shaped by psychic history, unconscious dynamics, cultural symbolism and individual symbolic matrices.

Need, demand, desire: from Lacan to contemporary psychoanalysis

In Lacanian psychoanalysis, the distinction between need, demand and desire is central. Need is linked to the biological order; demand, mediated by social language, calls for recognition; desire, on the other hand, is what lies "beyond" demand - an irreducible lack, a quest for something that can never be fully formulated. Desire is thus constantly in motion, never fully satisfied, which makes it the driving force of subjectivity.(Wikipedia)

This psychic insight suggests that human attractions are motivated not just by what we "want", but by what we lack, what we seek to name without always knowing it.

The role of social imaginaries and habitus

Human desires are also embedded in cultural and social contexts. Pierre Bourdieu proposed the concept of habitus to describe how our tastes, inclinations and aspirations are shaped by our social trajectory. These pre-conscious dispositions influence what we are attracted to: the arts, sports, political or spiritual commitments.

In the field of the contemporary sociology of desire, works dealing with the desire for novelty emphasize that modern capitalism installs a dynamic of constant stimulation: renewal, novelty and fashion are posited as attractive values. Jeanne Guien (2025) analyzes how the desire for novelty is incorporated into the cultural and consumer industries, legitimizing the demand for a permanent never-before-seen - which also guides our attractions and desires.(Le Monde.fr)

Similarly, in the worlds of art, desire takes on a plural and contradictory dimension: it can be at once a quest for recognition, an affirmation of identity, a transgression or a rupture - and this can be read through works, mediations, markets and symbolic practices.(Calenda)

Spiritual movements, existential quest and transcendent attractors

Last but not least, some desires find their destination not in concrete objects, but in an existential horizon: meaning, transcendence, communion, beauty. Philosophical and spiritual traditions (mysticism, existentialism, phenomenology) point to movements of attraction that go beyond the useful, the profitable or the socially valued. These aspirations play a structuring role in the individual's inner life, even if they often remain in the background of conscious discourse.

Synergies between levels and crystallization trajectories

Interests, motivations, desires, movements and inspirations do not have a single origin: they emerge at the interface of three interlocking levels - the biological, the psychic and the socio-cultural - and crystallize in singular life trajectories.

Dynamic interactions and individual trajectories

From birth, a person carries certain potentialities (temperament, sensitivity, biological constitution). But these potentialities remain virtual until they are engaged in experience, culture and relationships with others. Desire - understood here as an unfinished dynamic - activates parts of the self, directs curiosity, and leads to research, commitment and experimentation.

At every fork in the road (encounter, reading, aesthetic shock, personal crisis), an orientation takes shape. Desire cannot be reduced to a fixed plan: it takes shape in concrete actions, in feedback on experience, in self-examination.

Crisis, conversion and the metamorphosis of desire

Critical experiences (break-up, bereavement, isolation, sudden wonder) can sometimes provoke what we might call desiring ruptures: disinterest in an old project, a reconfiguration of what we deem worthy. This shift can open the door to new interests, new aspirations and a re-reading of the self.

In this process, desire acts as what "pulls" the individual out of his routines, towards the unknown - but always drawing on the traces of his history, his prior attachments, his symbolic resources.

Towards an ecology of human desire

Understanding where desire comes from means recognizing that it is both fragile and powerful, structured and unstable. That's why it's fruitful to think of an ecology of desire: an environment that nurtures the conditions (psychological, social, biological) where curiosities can flourish rather than be extinguished.

This implies :

• encouraging a diversity of stimuli without saturating attention,
• encouraging reflective interstices, pauses and withdrawal, so that certain latent aspirations can emerge,
• cultivate rich symbolic environments (exchanges, arts, stories) where desires can meet, mingle and transform,
• recognize human plasticity: the possibility that desires evolve, shift and mutate over time.

Engines of soul and body

Human interests, motivations, desires, movements, inspirations and attractions cannot be reduced to a single cause. They are rooted in a complex interweaving of physiology, brain, unconscious, social imagination and life trajectory.

Contemporary models from computational neuroscience (GDM, active inference) invite us to rethink motivation not as a simple signal, but as an emergent dynamic. Psychoanalytic psychology reminds us that desire is structured by lack and language. Sociology and philosophy show that our aspirations are shaped by cultures, technologies and collective narratives.

Thinking about the human desiring means recognizing the fragility and power of the invisible motors of the soul and body - in which our relationship to the world and to ourselves is invented.

References

Neuroscience and computational modeling

* Berridge, K. C., & Kringelbach, M. L. (2015). Pleasure systems in the brain. Neuron, 86(3), 646-664. https://doi. org/10.1016/j.neuron.2015.02.018

* Salamone, J. D., Yohn, S. E., López-Cruz, L., San Miguel, N., & Correa, M. (2016). Activational and effort-related aspects of motivation: Neural mechanisms and implications for psychopathology. Brain, 139(5), 1325-1347. https://doi. org/10.1093/brain/aww050

* Liu, Z., Zhao, W., & Chen, W. (2020). RGDM: A recurrent gating model for desire-motivation dynamics. arXiv preprint arXiv:2011.05595. https://arxiv. org/abs/2011.05595

* Friston, K., Parr, T., & de Vries, B. (2017). The graphical brain: Belief propagation and active inference. Network Neuroscience, 1(4), 381-414. https://doi. org/10.1162/NETN_a_00018

Psychology and psychoanalysis

* Lacan, J. (1966/2001). Écrits. Paris: Seuil (classic reference, distinction between need/demand/desire).

* Leader, D. (2022). Why Can't We Sleep? Understanding Our Sleeping and Waking Lives. London: Penguin (recent chapters on unconscious desire and existential lack).

* Laplanche, J. (2015). Après Freud. Paris: PUF. (contemporary updating of the concept of desire in psychoanalysis)

Sociology and philosophy

* Bourdieu, P. (1979/2013). La distinction. Critique sociale du jugement. Paris: Minuit.

* Rosa, H. (2019). Resonance. A sociology of relation to the world. Paris: La Découverte.

* Guien, J. (2025). "Discourses of novelty legitimize predation". Le Monde, June 2, 2025.

* Calenda (2024). Call for papers - Désirs d'art. https://calenda. org/1222722