{"product_id":"the-narcissus-machine-imitation-and-modern-life-9798259239203","title":"The Narcissus Machine: Imitation and Modern Life","description":"\u003cp\u003e • Author(s): Andrew Shawcross\u003cbr\u003e • Publisher: Independently Published\u003cbr\u003e • Publisher Imprint: Independently Published\u003cbr\u003e • BISAC: Mind \u0026amp; Body\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eFor anyone who has ever wondered whether what they want is really theirs.\u003c\/i\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWhy do we want the things we want? \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe honest answer is more unsettling than most of us care to admit. We do not desire independently. We learn what to want by watching others want it - and in an age of infinite scroll, algorithmic feeds, and curated lives, we have never been more thoroughly surrounded by models of desire. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Narcissus Machine\u003c\/i\u003e traces this condition from its roots in ancient Greece through the printing press, the novel, mass advertising, and the social media feed. It arrives at a diagnosis many of us recognise: the restlessness, the sense that life is somehow happening just out of reach, is not a personal failing. It is the predictable output of a system engineered to keep us wanting. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eBut understanding the trap is the first step to escaping it. Drawing on ancient philosophy, literature, and cultural history, this book offers a practical guide for what comes next: how to recognise desire that is genuinely yours, and how to want something of your own.","brand":"Independently Published","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":47891562889367,"sku":"9798259239203","price":1142.0,"currency_code":"INR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0666\/3471\/1191\/files\/9798259239203.webp?v=1781184109","url":"https:\/\/atlanticbooks.com\/products\/the-narcissus-machine-imitation-and-modern-life-9798259239203","provider":"Atlantic Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}