The whole collection · No. 22 of 36

Girard’s nursery

For anyone watching the competition.

1961 · Deceit, Desire and the Novel

Where it comes from

In Deceit, Desire and the Novel (1961) René Girard argued that we rarely want things by ourselves. We borrow our wants from someone else, and rivals copy each other until the thing they’re fighting over stops mattering.

How to play it

Give a toy to Pip. Then watch Kit.

Pick it up

What it teaches (try it first)

We want what the people we admire or envy already want. The closer the rival, the fiercer the wanting, and the sooner we forget what it was for.

Ask yourself. Who taught you to want the thing you’re chasing?

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