Mimetic Desire in Babies

What can we learn about positive mimesis from children?

“The messages from the mouths of babes are too important to ignore, and too complex to understand without multidisciplinary collaboration. To adapt Girard: Babies hold a secret about the human mind that has been hidden for millennia. They are our double. They have a primordial drive to understand us that advances their development; we have a desire to understand them that propels social science and philosophy. By examining the minds and hearts of children, we illuminate ourselves.”

These are the closing words of an essay by Dr. Andrew Meltzoff, a psychologist who co-directs the University of Washington's Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences. His essay, “Imitation, Gaze, and Intentions”, can be found in the 2011 volume Mimesis and Science—a book so important I included it in my “Top 10 Reading List” for those interested in learning more about mimetic theory.

I wrote about Dr. Meltzoff’s work extensively in the first chapter of Wanting because I believe it’s critical to understanding…