René Girard, mimetic desire, and society's biggest rat race
Leo Nasskauempoweredbelonging.substack.com
René Girard, mimetic desire, and society's biggest rat race
The assumption that my desires are all my own—this story that I tell myself—is what the French social scientist René Girard calls “The Romantic Lie.” The Lie is that I want things independently, or that I choose all of the objects of my desire out of some secret desire chamber in my heart. I know a good thing when I see it; I know what’s desirable ... See more
read.lukeburgis.com • Mimetic Desire 101 - Anti-Mimetic—A Field Guide to Mimetic Desire
Girard discovered that most of what we desire is mimetic (mi-met-ik) or imitative, not intrinsic. Humans learn—through imitation—to want the same things other people want, just as they learn how to speak the same language and play by the same cultural rules. Imitation plays a far more pervasive role in our society than anyone had ever openly acknow
... See moreLuke Burgis • Wanting: The Power of Mimetic Desire in Everyday Life
He argues that humans do not themselves know what to desire; as a result, they imitate the desires of others.