Thank you! On both counts, I genuinely don't know. I think Parfit was quite correct on the self, and that free will is... unlikely. But that doesn't seem incompatible with some degree of "authentic self" (which, in modern terms of genetics and personal development, emerges rather than stays fixed). But in practical terms, which I take girard to be talking about (can we says he's more a social scientist than traditional philosopher?) the mechanisms seem to me to be more like what I outlined, than the mimetic theory. I may be splitting hairs and hedging here, but the "ultimate answers" all seem much murkier to me than any single theory allows for. Hence my interest in pragmatism.
Reminds me of a lovely quote from Marianne Robinson in her recent chat with Ezra Klein. Her primary school teacher told her:
“You’ll have to live with your mind every day of your life so make sure that you have a mind that you want to live with.”
I love that. I tell my kids this all the time.
I really enjoyed reading this.
was fun to write too!
I enjoyed your article on mimesis. Do you hold a platonic view of the authentic self? And - while I'm at it - where do you stand on free will?
Thank you! On both counts, I genuinely don't know. I think Parfit was quite correct on the self, and that free will is... unlikely. But that doesn't seem incompatible with some degree of "authentic self" (which, in modern terms of genetics and personal development, emerges rather than stays fixed). But in practical terms, which I take girard to be talking about (can we says he's more a social scientist than traditional philosopher?) the mechanisms seem to me to be more like what I outlined, than the mimetic theory. I may be splitting hairs and hedging here, but the "ultimate answers" all seem much murkier to me than any single theory allows for. Hence my interest in pragmatism.
Thank you!