René girard
Who is René Girard?
René Girard is the founder of mimetic theory. He died in 2015 as a member of the elite Academy Francaise for his groundbreaking work into human nature after having spent nearly fifty years elaborating his theory of mimetic desire, mimetic rivalry, scapegoating, and the foundations of human cultures and institutions.
Girard is notoriously hard to classify in a specific discipline. His doctorate degree was in history. His discovery of mimetic theory came from his study of classic literature like Don Quixote, Shakespeare, Proust, and the Russian novelist Dostoevsky, whose psychological realism was due, in Girard’s opinion, to his intuitive grasp of how humans want—the mimetic nature of desire. But Girard also dived deeply into anthropology, the philosophy of social sciences, philosophical investigations, and even theology (he was a devout Catholic, which earned him the ire of many in secular academia who couldn’t take his thinking on its own).
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Girard was one of the last great thinkers who was truly a hedgehog, in the words of Isaiah Berlin (“the fox knows many things; the hedgehog knows one very important thing”). Girard’s hedgehog insight was mimetic desire—it was like a secret key that unlocked new layers of human relationships. Girard was truly interested in everything. In a world in which knowledge is becoming increasingly specialized, Girard stands out as a rarity.
The last position that he held before his retirement in 1995 was the Andrew B. Hammond Professor of French Language, Literature, and Civilization at Stanford University, where he taught such tech luminaries as Peter Thiel, the founder of PayPal and Palantir and one of the early angel investors in Facebook who cites Girard’s teaching and mentorship as a major influence in his life and work.
Girard’s work is more relevant than ever because it provides the most penetrating explanation of human conflict with roots in anthropology (the study of human beings) and the fundamental role of desire in generating conflict. Many of the most complex issues facing our world today—from climate change to rampant consumerism and violent conflict between countries (and within countries, like the polarization of politics and the violence that it brings)—are illuminated in a dramatic way by Girard’s theory of mimetic desire and its consequences.
IF YOU'D LIKE TO SEE GIRARD IN HIS ELEMENT, DOING SOME VINTAGE RETRO SOMKING, CHECK OUT THIS FUN VIDEO FROM 1970'S FRENCH T.V.
