René Girard and Mimetic Desire

Abstract

René Girard is famous for his mimetic theory of desire across different fields of scholarship. My aim is to scrutinize his theory from a philosophical point of view. His basic idea and theory appear to be deceptively simple. The theory has two parts, namely, the main thesis and its implications. The thesis says, a desiring subject always copies her desires from a model, or it has a relevant source. Desire is triangular or based on a three-place relation: subject – model – object. Next the main implication: subjects are anxious and hate each other because their desires are not properly