Status:: #🌱 Tags:: Links:: [[Happiness MOC]] ___ # Mimetic Theory Mimetic theory was proposed by Rene Girard in the 1980s. The main idea behind mimetic theory is that humans imitate each others desires unconsciously, automatically, and spontaneously. Desire (as opposed to need) is an intellectual appetite for things that you *perceive* to be good, but that you have no physical, instinctual basis for wanting – and that’s true whether those things are *actually* good or not. Desire is a social process, it's mimetic. Desire in itself isn't a bad thing--it's perfectly normal and understandable to want things you don't have. It's when desire is pursued unconsciously that it becomes negative. When pursued unconsciously, you can find yourself trying to get things you don't actually want. You're neighbor has a better car than you so you get a better car. Your friend has a nicer computer than you so you get a better computer. Everyone around you is going into X field so you join them even though it's the opposite of your way of being. This bad form of desire can lead to conflict. As described in David Perell in his article, [[Peter Thiel’s Religion]], "Mimetic conflict emerges when two people desire the same, scarce resource. Like lions in a cage, we mirror our enemies, fight because of our sameness, and ascend status hierarchies instead of providing value for society. Only by observing others do we learn how and what to desire. Our Mimetic nature is simultaneously our biggest strength and biggest weakness. When it goes right, imitation is a shortcut to learning. But when it spirals out of control, Mimetic imitation leads to envy, violence, and bitter, ever-escalating violence." Peter Thiel, founder of Paypall was hugely influenced by mimetic theory and wanted to find a way to imitate in a good way. This led to his philosophy that you [[Unlock Your Potential By Creating A Higher Self To Aspire Towards|shouldn't copy your neighbors]] *How do you know what you really want?* Identifying the people influencing you. Ask if they influence you internally or externally. Internally means you influence them back (likely friends, family, co-worker or lover) where as externally means you have no effect on them (likely they are a media figure). Than ask yourself, do you really desire the things these other people desire? Think about how you can make your desires your own. ## References [[How to know what you really want]]