2022-05-02 09:02:59
The Psychology of Mimetic Contagion
EXTRACTS:
...I suggest that two accounts of social psychology—the mass formation theory of Matthias Desmet and the mimetic contagion theory of Rene Girard, help to answer this question. These two theories also go a long way toward explaining some of the more puzzling behaviors we saw emerge during the pandemic....
Individuals in the mass are impervious to rational argumentation, and respond instead to vivid visual images, including numbers and statistics presented in charts and graphs, and repetition of the messages central to the narrative. Desmet furthermore claims that—as in a hypnotized state where one can be insensitive to pain, allowing even for surgery without anesthesia—someone caught up in the process of mass formation becomes radically insensitive to other important values in life. All kinds of goods can be taken from him, including his freedom, and he takes little notice of these losses and harms....
In addition to the mass formation theory, the insights of Stanford Professor Rene Girard, one of the 20th Century’s greatest thinkers, on mimetic contagion and the scapegoating mechanism are helpful to understand this phenomenon. In many ways, this complements the mass formation account. Girard saw that we imitate not only one another’s behaviors, but one another’s desires. We end up wanting the same thing(s), e.g., “I need to be first in line for the vaccine, which will let me get my life back.”
This can lead to mimetic rivalry and increase social tension and conflict. The mechanism that societies use to resolve this conflict is scapegoating. The social tension (amplified during lockdowns and with the fear-based propaganda) is attributed to a person or class of person, with the proposal that if we can only rid ourselves of the [fill in the blank “unclean” member(s) of society] the social tension will resolve.
The banishment or destruction of the scapegoat (in this case, the unvaccinated) falsely promises to return society to a harmonious state and diffuse the threat of violent conflict. While scapegoating does relieve social tensions a bit, this is always only temporary. Mimetic rivalry continues, social tensions once again build, and another scapegoat must be identified (e.g., now the enemy is those who spread alleged disinformation). The cycle continues. ....
CONTINUE HERE:
https://brownstone.org/articles/the-psychology-of-mimetic-contagion/
#covid19 #Pandemicism #mass_psychosis #hysteria #psychology #demonization
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