Unraveling the Mystery of Mimetic Desire with Philosopher Girard

René Girard was a well-known philosopher, literary critic and anthropologist who came up with the concept of “mimetic desire.” The name Rene itself means “reborn” or “born again“. He was born in France in 1923 and was educated at elite institutions such as École des Chartes in Paris and Indiana University in the United States.

Girard posited that desire is not something that comes naturally to humans, but it is rather something that we learn from others. He believed that human behavior is imitative in nature and that we desire things because others desire them.

René Girard’s work on mimetic desire has influenced many fields, including literary criticism, sociology, theology, and philosophy. His insights into how humans learn to desire and the social mechanisms that drive competition among people, are still widely studied and discussed today.

In summary, René Girard was a philosopher who coined the term “mimetic desire” to explain how humans learn to desire based on the desires of those around them. His work has had a significant impact on fields as varied as literature, sociology, theology, and philosophy, making him an important figure to study and understand.