Mimesis Theory: A [very] High-Level Overview
Rene Girard a while ago came up with one of the most helpful mental models we have today: Mimesis Theory. Mimesis Theory is an explanation that explains the anatomy of desire in the human condition. First, we’ll give a high-level overview of Mimesis Theory, Type 1 & Type 2 Imitation, The Social Dynamics of each type, and how it applies to you.
The most helpful way to understand Mimesis is to ask the WHO, WHAT, WHY questions of why you want a particular thing, these could be your ‘ER’ desires: healthier, wealthier, happier, etc. First, before you can desire anything, you have to get a basis for what’s desirable in the first place, these are referred to as your ‘Desire Models.’ Your first desire models were probably your parents and siblings. Your models for desire were based upon what was a valued trait in the household. The people and the desires you mimic from them in your immediate social circle is Type 1 Imitation or ‘Peer Imitation.’ The people and desires you mimic from idols or people you look up to is Type 2 Imitation or ‘Idol Imitation.’
The Cycles of Desire that each of these take are 2 sides of the same coin. Type 1 Imitation is synonymous with pretty much all aspects of the massive abstraction that we call Education [K-12 & University]. Let’s take one desire that everyone has an experience with Grades. Grades work on multiple fronts to ensure that they stay valuable by virtue of being mimetically ergonomic. Notice that in type 1 imitation the winners are the gatekeepers of the systems, in our case, the university industrial complex. The figure below will help illustrate this:
This cycle is by nature very parasitical and liable to abuse as value accrues to a single praetorian class of individuals who have designed the system. If you want to add some real value to society, you have to be very careful in engaging in desire cycles similar to this are largely destructive to society as all the participants in the system conform to the archetypes that succeed in the closed system, and a zero-sum mindset.
Let’s take another desire that people have that can lead to a more positive outcome if dealt with, with Type 2 Imitation: Health & Fitness. Let’s say you roughly model your desire for fitness from Arnold Schwarzeneggar, you do your research on his mindset, training regimen, and diet, and you get in the best health of your life. This is positive-sum, Arnold’s ability to stay in great health is not an impediment to yours but actually additive and makes the collective pie of health larger for everyone. This maps nicely onto startups and entrepreneurial enterprises as well, it’s okay to be inspired and model yourself after entrepreneurial titans like Elon, Steve Jobs, and Bezos in terms of the principles. But the moment you start modeling yourself after your competition or your peer companies, it will often lead you to the wrong product that nobody wanted, but you couldn’t see that because you were too busy measuring dicks with your peers. You aren’t scared of the competition because you’re so far differentiated from them, it’s because you’re indistinguishably similar. A core concept at the heart of mimesis is that People don’t fight because they’re different it’s because they’re the same.
“Competition is for Losers” — Peter Thiel. Go Do You
