Ananalysis Of Girard’s Theory Of Mimetic Desire

René Girard is a famous French contemporary philosopher,anthropologist.His theoryrelates to literature,philosophy,anthropology, religion and so on, his influence through outEurope and the United States,he is also recognized as one of the most important thinkersin the late20th century.This paper is focuses on the Girard’s theory of mimetic desire,which is the majorassumptions and theoretical basis in Girard’s thought.The central idea is that person is notthe source of their own desires,desire derives from the imitated third party,themediator,which is a model at the same time as a rival.Mimetic desire is the result ofhuman inability to abandon the transcendent and secretly pursuing the transcendent,wherethe traditional transcendental pattern disappeared,this determines the mimetic desire hasthe metaphysical nature;Imitate another person’s desires is bound to make the the manbecome a model at the same time become a competitor,trigger conflict and confrontationfor the same target between each other, therefore, mimetic desire also has the conflict; Atthe same time, it has the character of spread, the medium closer to the subject, the desire ismore easily spread,they copying each other and struggling with each other;Thisaccelerating interactivity imitation relationship is eventually led to the destructive endingof mimetic desire--desire can never reach its goal,only lead to failure and death.In Girard’sthought,mimetic desire which as one of the fundamental interpersonal relationship mode isnot a static state but a dynamic mechanism.There is a evolution process from desire’soccurrence to desire’s distortion,propagation and finally to desire’s crazy stage.In the faceof the destructive ending of mimetic desire,Girard believes that only through the realconversion and God’s love,the mankind can get rescued from the destruction and despair.Girard’s theory of mimetic desire is not only the subversion of the universal desireorder, but also the direct negation to the human’s subjectivity and self-autonomy.Although this theory has a close relationship with Girard’s religious background,but his uniquetheory angle of view and argument injects new blood to the contemporary intellectualcircles and academia,provides the inspiration and reflection on the more and more fierceinterpersonal relationship in modern,and on the question of human’s boundedness andlimitation,as well as in the post-secular society, the different religious believers,thebelievers and unbelievers how to effectively communication, understanding andcoexistence.