Imitation: How our desire is born from the eyes of the other

Source: Triangular desire: When the other decides for us

"Man is the creature who does not know what to desire, and he turns to the other so that the latter may decide for him. We desire what the other desires...

The subject does not desire the object because of its intrinsic value, but because the other, who serves as an example, desires it. Desire is always triangular: the subject, the model, and the object. The closer the model for imitation is to us, the more jealousy and hatred increase, since the model becomes an obstacle."

(René Girard, based on chapter 1 in "Deceit, Desire and the Novel", 1961)

Explanation: The grand illusion of spontaneous desire

René Girard shatters the illusion of "spontaneous desire." We do not actually want the new iPhone because it is good. We want it because our "model" wants it. The problem begins when there is scarcity: the moment both of us desire the same thing, the model turns from an object of imitation into a bitter rival. Imitation, which begins as love, ends in jealousy, hatred, and violence.

Perspective: From tulip bulbs to NFTs: The economy of imitation

All human tensions stem from this mechanism. We are obsessed with comparisons. Our economy is built on this—everyone wants a startup in a collective fit of imitation. In 17th-century Holland, people sold houses for a single tulip bulb, not because of the flower, but because everyone wanted what everyone else wanted. In the 21st century, "ownership" of a digital image (an NFT) that everyone has on their phone was sold for tens of millions of dollars. Value detached from utility and turned into social speculation. Imitation is the most powerful economic engine, but it can be profoundly destructive. This is why there are so many doctors whose parents are doctors, lawyers whose children follow in their footsteps, and likewise in many professions. Some of them will succeed because genetics helps, while many others, whom genetics did not bless with the right genes, will not get to follow in their parents' path.

Going Deeper: Hunter S. Thompson and the attempt to steal genius

The writer Hunter S. Thompson (1937–2005) took imitation to the extreme as a learning technique. He wanted to understand how a masterpiece is written, so he sat and typed out the entirety of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, word for word, from beginning to end. He wanted his fingers to learn the rhythm, his muscles to absorb the phrasing. He understood that art is the manual labor of precise imitation until the style becomes second nature. Unfortunately, the venture was unsuccessful, and Thompson's books were a failure, which led to his suicide. It turns out that not everything can be imitated.

Culture: The theater of life: Rabbi Nachman and distinguishing truth from imitation

Rabbi Nachman of Breslov (Likutey Moharan I, 245) understands that it is difficult to distinguish between the original and the imitation, between a teaching of truth and a teaching of imitation and forgery. Rabbi Nachman compares this to a comedic theater performance, where the announcements ahead of the comedy are the "real" thing, and the troupe of clowns meant to "warm up" the audience is also a "real" event, yet both are devoid of meaning. Ironically, it is the comedy itself that is an imitation of life—actors playing other characters—and precisely there, in the heichal hatemurot (the hall of exchanges, a realm of illusions and substitutions), when it is known to be an imitation, it is the most real thing, because people know it is an imitation. Every play, film, painting, or story is an imitation of something; every meal prepared according to a recipe someone else composed; every piece of clothing bought because it looked good on someone else—everything is an imitation. Countless films and books deal with imitation: killers who imitate other killers (Copycat, 1995), situation comedies of disguise and imitation (Mrs. Doubtfire, 1993), art forgers (F for Fake, 1973; Big Eyes, 2014), and on and on. Culture investigates itself.