Is the end nigh? Ominous prophecies about AI and climate change, intensifying bursts of social violence, and renewed threats of nuclear annihilation all suggest that the world is accelerating toward apocalypse. But is there an underlying mechanism that is responsible for the emergence of these disturbing trends? According to French philosopher and anthropologist of religion René Girard, the answer lies in a fundamental and universal mechanism — “hidden since the foundation of the world” — which drives social dynamics: mimetic desire.
According to Girard, humans are intrinsically imitative. As Girard states, because we “do not know what to desire,” we start to desire “what others desire because we imitate their desires.” Desire, in short, is not pre-determined or innate but always socially mediated — we do not desire something due to its intrinsic nature or qualities but because it is desired by the other.
Read Full Article »