By DR. ROBERT FUSELIER Los Alamos
Editor’s note: Last week, Dr. Fuselier began the series on the Seeking emotional system by presenting a neuroscientific perspective of the emotional system we experience as desire. This week he’ll introduce the societal problems that can arise when we imitate the desires of others.
Mimetic Desire
The source of many of our societal woes is what Rene Girard called mimetic desire, which is the mimicking of someone else’s desire. While we rarely recognize this as a desire, mimetic desire permeates our relationships. It starts early in life as exemplified by two toddlers fighting over one toy in a room full of toys. The toddlers value the same toy simple because the other either has it or wants it. They’ll continue to fight over the toy until one toddler loses his/her desire for the toy, one gets harmed in the process and quits by “losing”, or an adult steps in to separate the two.
As adults, we often seemed amazed when fighting toddlers don’t recognize their folly. Yet, we rarely recognize it in ourselves when we get caught up in our own rival-rival relationships. Keeping up with the Joneses is nothing more than a rivalry created through mimetic desire. We can and do have rivalries with family members, neighbors, and coworkers while rarely recognizing them for what they are.
When we imitate what someone else has, we run into a huge problem: two or more people wanting the same object. When I see you wanting what I have, the object gains value for me, which in turn makes it more valuable for you. What we end up desiring is each other’s desire and eventually their position and the object is often forgotten. The solutions to obtaining another person’s position are never non-violent.
Take a look at today’s political turmoil. The constant partisan bickering over the right to be right is no different than two toddlers fighting over a plastic dinosaur.
We are quick to recognize others who are caught up in mimetic rivalries, but we rarely recognize we are guilty of the same foolishness when we denigrate someone of an opposing political party (or race, religion, nationality, neighborhood, etc., etc.).
Whenever we begin belittling others, we have taken the first step along a path that leads to scapegoating violence. It’s what humans end up doing when they feel their societies falling apart from the turmoil caused by mimetic desire and the fear of being found on the wrong side of the lynching rope. Scapegoating violence may have helped stem the self-destructing spiral of violence that resulted from mimetic desire in ancient societies, but, for reasons I’ll tackle in a later series, it no longer works today.
Now… a quick turn from politics to religion. We’ve all heard the warnings against discussing either in public. Why? Whether we realize it or not, our perspectives of both are usually very emotionally driven. In fact, Girard would say the two subjects had the origins in the same violence that stems from mimetic desire.
Because of my understanding of the details of Girard’s hypothesis, I know well the dangers that lurk nearby anyone sharing a perspective of religion that may
not be widely held. But, I guess, sometimes you just have to live on the edge.
Learning about mimetic desire and rival-rival relationships has given me a new perspective on some ancient teachings. One of these teachings is the Ten Commandments. It is one of mankind’s oldest writings, written over three millennia ago. What led the authors to come up with these commandments in this form (or, pending on your belief, why God gave us these commandments in this form) was something I’ve pondered since I was young.
Whether or not you’re a follower of one of the Abrahamic faiths, you may find yourself thinking the Old Testament portrays a God of anger and revenge. If so, try viewing these ancient writings in the context of a developing character plot. The earlier God of anger, who demands sacrifices and enjoys revenge, becomes a God of love who wants only love demonstrated in return. To me, the OT is a mirror of the development of the Hebrew people’s view of our transcendent potential.
Both a fundamentalist and atheistic view of the OT will prevent one from seeing what I think is an interesting understanding of humanity.
Next week: Mimetic Desire and the Big Ten (Commandments)