René Girard's Mimetic Theory (Studies in Violence, Mimesis & Culture)
In contrast to mere imitation, which refers to the positive effects of copying someone else’s behavior (which facilitates learning, for example), mimetic desire—desiring the other’s desire—opens up a deeply violent dimension.
Byrne Hobart • Boom: Bubbles and the End of Stagnation
The desire that lives through imitation almost always leads to conflict, and this conflict frequently leads to violence.
René Girard • I See Satan Fall Like Lightning
René Girard, a Frenchman who was a professor of literature and history in the United States, had his first insight about the nature of desire in the late 1950s.
Luke Burgis • Wanting: The Power of Mimetic Desire in Everyday Life
Burgis breaks down the theories behind mimetic desire and the teachings of René Girard, why all of our behaviors are imitative, why we desire things we don’t need, and why this all leads to missing out on aspects of life that are far more meaningful and valuable.