Reflexivity
A two-way feedback loop in which perceptions affect an environment and the environment then affects perceptions. In a mimetic rivalry, neither party can act without affecting the perceptions and desires of the other. Financial manager and philanthropist George Soros made the principle of reflexivity a key to his investment strategy by noticing that financial markets […]
Double Bind
When a model notices that someone is imitating him and takes the imitator as his own model in return. The more that each party is drawn into mimesis and doubles down on the rivalry, the stronger the mimetic bond between them becomes. Each side is bound to the other (the double bind) because each side […]
Model (of Desire)
A person, thing, or group that shapes and orients the desire of another. Because desire is not object-oriented but model-oriented, models perform the important role of generating and directing desire in human life. Models are dangerous because they easily become obstacles or rivals to a person who becomes fixated on a particular model, which often […]
Mimesis and Economics: Self-Interest
The ideas that form the basis for the free market economy—ideas like “freedom” and “justice”—are at the heart of the market’s sacred aura. Few ideas have shaped Western economies like the notion of enlightened self-interest. Enlightened self-interest is the idea that people will naturally gravitate toward activities that further the interests of others in order […]
Mimetic Desire in the Art Market: Mona Lisa
What art feuds reveal about human desire The art world has a fetish for conspiracy. Take a casual sweep of the news over a given year and you will turn up any number of stories about stolen masterpieces, disputed provenances, and multi-million-dollar black-market auctions. Art itches for intrigue and the latest installment involve the Mona […]