Introduction to Mimetic Theory | René Girard

Lecture I gives a brief overview of Girard’s life and work. It summarizes the key conclusions of mimetic theory, distilling the most crucial ideas of this 10+ hour long lectures series into a digestible 2 hours. For those who are short on time, this synopsis is sufficient to give you a taste of Girard. For those embarking on the full journey, this lecture is a rough map that will orient you throughout the expansive, tumultuous, and dizzying terrain ahead.

Some links to further guide your study:

TIMESTAMPS
00:00:00 Introduction
00:05:05 The Case for Engaging Girard
00:19:34 The Structure of This Lecture Series
00:23:52 Girard's Biography
00:29:06 What We Cover in Lecture I
00:30:45 Mimesis
00:33:43 Metaphysical Desire
00:42:04 The Negative Phase of Mimesis
00:51:20 The Scapegoat Mechanism
01:03:05 Christianity
01:10:55 Love and Hypocrisy
01:13:38 Truth and Dogma
01:18:04 Innovation and Imitation
01:26:02 Violence and Apocalypse
01:37:16 The Case Against Engaging Girard

[arlesbarkly]

the whole format of this lecture is another form of status signaling etc - a more refined form of mimesis! the suits the backdrop, the way they speak, the haircuts, etc! honestly, it’s great. when i was in college my problem wasn’t the mimesis itself, but the fact that people werent imitating the right stuff. now here are some actual smart, relatively independent-thinking people imitating the philosophy elites of the past. which is awesome, i mean that, but its not a transcending of mimetic desire, rather we like it because its a preferable type of person to imitate!

[marcusmagalhaes]

It's literally absurd that this level of content and production is completely free. Thank you very much, Johnathan! Incredible work!

[tomkleingers]

I will never understand how fantastic content like this gets less exposure than the unimaginative, from-a-kit, novocaine of mainstream media.

[Mariaamirasharif]

His speaking skills are impeccable and I can tell he worked very hard to make sure his lecture flowed with with grace and eloquence. Thank you! This podcast made this concept very simple to understand.

[banelegugulethukunene]

Watching this right now, I’ve never felt more aligned and experiencing the power of synchronicity. Absolutely honoured and humbled to be exposed to such material free of charge. I’m utterly at a loss for words. I found my community.

[DavidPerellChannel]

Studying Girard made me see how much the drive for prestige shapes our ambitions. Ever since we finished this lecture, I’ve been asking myself: “What opportunities can’t I see because they’re not prestigious enough?”

The very best opportunities are rarely prestigious when there’s big money to be made with them. In my experience, the lust for prestige is the strongest amongst high-status people. When looking for jobs, children from high-status families tend to value prestige the most. In another world, these people would take bets on exciting, but non-prestigious projects with big upside.

My friend Justin Murphy writes: "You don't really outperform your peers with quality per se, you outperform your peers by finding underpriced quality that others don’t judge to be valuable.”

Everybody wants to be high status. But despite the financial rewards, few people are willing to work on low-status projects, even if they have the potential to become high-status. Most of the people who are jumping into Bitcoin now weren’t willing to commit a few years ago, back when people scoffed at the idea of digital money.

Only after reading Rene Girard did I realize the dangers of chasing too much prestige. The worst rivalries, he said, come when people aren’t competing for a physical object. Duels and comment thread wars come to mind. To that end, it’s no coincidence that the Latin word for prestige is praestigiae, which signifies an illusion or mirage.

The world is filled with under-priced opportunities that are only available to people who are comfortable with promising, but low-status projects.

Beware of chasing prestige.

[Rnxt]

This is arguably one of the best documentation series on the internet.

[evolutionclubmedia]

This is one of the best hidden gems of Youtube.

[jmalin]

The internet is coming to life. The signal is starting to circumambulate and separate itself from all the noise for those who earnestly seek. It’s an incredible time to be alive.

[chudy.w]

Bravo!!! Everything about this lecture deserves an applause... everything! Thank you for putting this much effort into a free resource. Speaking for myself (and maybe others who, like me, are hungrily scavenging YouTube for a philosophical education), I hope you don't stop doing what you are doing. It is truly appreciated. 🇳🇬

[rorrymaul]

this right here, is the content i want to see in youtube, educational, well made, entertaining, engaging, pls gents keep doing the great work you are doing.

[MrHawkMan]

Honestly the most underrated philosopher ever. Reading him actually changed my life, it convinced me that Christanity was worth actually considering and since then I've converted. But not just that, he also made me aware the origin of my desires, then showed me Christ as the solution to them.

[vimota]

"What makes us unique to Girard, is not our ability to determine truth, but our capacity to believe in lies, in so far as others around us do as well."

Love it, keep it up guys.

[vinavsharma]

Nothing to advertise in the background. The lecturer actually knows what he is talking about and the listener is not just listening, he is absorbing. You could tell the originality of the piece when the speaker tells the moderator that though he got all the things right about his career achievements, but he missed his failures. Including them is important as he attributes to where he is today because of them only. An amazing discourse on Rene Girard's school of thought. You guys are doing a great service to the society.

[mosiahkeels]

Thank you for this depth of art you have curated for the general public.

[ymatsu]

Wow, this is the greatest lecture I've ever had on youtube. Thank you Jonathan for this wonderful content.
The buddha who founded Buddhism, once said " The root of suffering is attachment (desire)".
We will suffer from desire or attachment when we lose or can not attain it. So the Buddha believed we should get rid of everything of attachment or desire to escape from suffering.
Girard pointed out our tendency of metaphysical desire to intimate other people or want what people want. And It's strengthened by other people's desires. I believe this might be a problem that should be solved by Buddhism.

[paulatreides]

Digging, digging, digging for answers…. Oh, what’s this? I see a vein….wait, omg! It’s the mother load!!! Thanks for this. Presenting it in such a concise and enjoyable way. Very much looking forward to the rest of the series.

[AaronBrooks]

This is great save one distraction — the apparently un-self-aware irony of presenting this in a highly polished format, screen filled with status symbols, projecting the social queues of erudition. One might suggest that this format is designed to make the content appealing and increase the reach (or even specifically target those who need the message most), however, if this irony is left unaddressed, it becomes hypocrisy.

After writing the above, I have to wonder if I've committed the same offense. Perhaps this disclaimer helps?

[samismx]

Don’t listen to the haters. This is absolutely riveting. Absolutely well done.

[augenjoe]

Wow, im glad i stumbled on this. And like some others commented, I'm surprised that its available free of cost! What is loved the most was that you included the 'whynots' at the end of the video.