Definitions of key terms in René Girard's mimetic theory — from mimetic desire and the scapegoat mechanism to thick desire and méconnaissance.
Resisting the pull of crowd desire; cultivating desires rooted in one's own values rather than borrowed from social models.
False transcendence that seeks fulfillment in another human being rather than in the divine — the metaphysical dimension of mimetic desire.
A form of mimetic desire where the model is too distant — historically, socially, or geographically — to become a rival.
A form of mimetic desire where model and subject exist in the same social world and can become rivals — the more dangerous form of mediation.
Misrecognition: the distorted perception that causes communities caught in mimetic crisis to misidentify the true cause of their problems.
The spread of mimetic desire and rivalry through a community, potentially reaching crisis proportions that require a scapegoating resolution.
The tendency to want what another person wants, borrowed from a model rather than arising spontaneously.
The escalating conflict between two individuals who desire the same object, where the rival becomes an obstacle that intensifies rather than diminishes desire.
The person from whom desire is borrowed. The model shows what is desirable and, if they become a rival, blocks access to it.
A period of social breakdown when mimetic contagion has spread so widely that all distinctions collapse and the community is on the verge of self-destruction.
The process by which communities channel collective violence onto a single victim to restore social order through unanimous expulsion.
Desires rooted in one's own deepest values and longings, as opposed to thin desires borrowed mimetically from the crowd.
Desires that are shallow and mimetically borrowed from others, with no deep roots in one's own values or identity.
The structure of mimetic desire: subject → model → object, as opposed to the Romantic myth of direct subject-to-object desire.
Anti-Mimetic
Weekly short-form thoughts on mimetic desire, culture, and what it means to want freely. No essays — bullets.
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