Dimensions of Desire Strength

The question I address in this paper is what is it exactly for desires to possess a certain strength. And my aim is twofold. First, I argue for a pluralistic account of desire strength. On this view, there are several dimensions along which desires possess greater or lesser strength, and none of them is intrinsically privileged. My second aim is to highlight some time-based properties of desires, recurrence and persistence. Both desires’ degree of persistence across time and their rate of episodic recurrence are, I argue, further dimensions of desire strength. ABSTRACT The question I address in this paper is what is it exactly for desires to possess a certain strength. And my aim is twofold. First, I argue for a pluralistic account of desire strength. On this view, there are several dimensions along which desires possess greater or lesser strength, and none of them is intrinsically privileged. My second aim is to highlight some time-based properties of desires, recurrence and persistence. Both desires’ degree of persistence across time and their rate of episodic recurrence are, I argue, further dimensions of desire strength. RESUMEN La pregunta que abordo en este artículo es qué es exactamente que un deseo posea una cierta fuerza. Y mi objetivo es doble. Primero, argumento a favor de una visión pluralista de la fuerza del deseo. Desde esta perspectiva, existen varias dimensiones en las que los deseos poseen mayor o menor fuerza, y ninguna de ellas es intrínsecamente privilegiada. Mi segundo objetivo es resaltar algunas propiedades de los deseos basadas en el tiempo, la recurrencia y la persistencia. Sostengo que tanto el grado de persistencia de los deseos a lo largo del tiempo como su tasa de recurrencia episódica son también dimensiones de la fuerza del deseo.