20 | Mimetic Theory 1: Mimetic Desire

Duncan Reyburn's Unorthodoxy

This episode starts off a series that I'll be doing on mimetic theory—an anthropological theory developed by the brilliant literary theorist and philosopher René Girard. My idea in this series is to explain, or perhaps just sketch, the basic parameters and considerations of mimetic theory, as well as looking at how this theory questions and illuminates various aspects of the human experience by focusing on an empirical truth: our capacity for imitation. As we move through this series, I'll be touching on anthropology, psychology, history, the nature of conflict and violence, and the origin of culture. And, of course, I'll be looking into what mimetic theory brings to theology. In this, the first episode in this series, I cover a few of the foundational ideas of mimetic theory: the mimetic nature of desire, the triangular structure of desire, and the place of metaphysical desire.