The Logic of Desire: From Homer’s Odyssey to Alice in Wonderland

While one idly day-dreams, one frequently imagines how the world and all within it might be different. What if the clouds were red? What if I won a million dollars, tax-free? What if I did not have to wake up at 5 a.m. during the week? Generally, one likely imagines things which one wants, or wishes that reality would just be slightly more in accord with one's desire or inclination. But as we learn from thinkers as wide-ranging as Dante and Lewis Carroll, what we think that we desire can actually represent what we desires in our selves.