But the concept that lies at the root of all of Girard’s theories is the idea of mimesis. Mimesis is the idea that humans copy each other and that it is at the core of being human. Humans “Mime” each other. When I first heard this, I was unimpressed. Everyone knows our capacity for rationality is at the heart of being human. But upon letting that idea marinate, I realized that mimesis is essential. Mimesis is the core of education and the passing of knowledge. What good is being rational and discovery if you can’t pass it on and teach it? The ability to teach and build upon logical findings is a defining human characteristic. Rationality without mimesis is not that impressive.
Mimesis is so ingrained in humanity that we often don’t realize we are copying people. But instinctually, we seem to know that it’s essential. The concept of having Role Models or heroes speaks to this truth. And the phrase my mom used to yell at me when I was younger, “Be a good example for your sister,” also speaks to this innate subconscious human tendency to imitate each other.
I won’t go into the whole history of Rene Girard or his entire theory on scapegoating, which builds on mimesis. That’s a topic for another post. I’ll recommend his book, “I See Satan Fall Like Lightning,” for a good introduction to Mimetic theory and Rene Girard.
There are practical implications to this understanding that humans have a mimetic desire. We will subconsciously copy the people we are around, or in the modern world, we will imitate the media we consume. Therefore we must surround ourselves with good people and good ideas. We live in a world that is antithetical to most Christian beliefs. Every day anti-Christian views bombard us. Humans have…