From Philosophy to Power: The Misuse of René Girard by Peter Thiel, J.D. Vance
salmagundi.skidmore.edu
salmagundi.skidmore.edu
Tolkien like Girard was explicitly a Christian writer and if there's one message in his books it was of course: "do not take the ring". Thiel somehow turned this around into "VC fund the forging of the ring and use it against our perceived enemies".
Girard's argument was that the logical endpoint of mimetic violence and technology is apocalypse, and the only solation is love of your enemy. Likewise Tolkien points out that it is the very logic of power that destroys. Yet Thiel somehow took Tolkien's work, slapped his names on weapons and tools of surveillance. It's honestly kind of bizarre the extent to which Thiel openly twists the people he claims to admire.
This article is compelling to me as someone who’s come to Girard’s ideas through criticism of Thiel. Girard’s thought has always seemed reasonable as a descriptive theory. But it’s been presented through Thiel and others as a prescriptive means for manipulation. It’s interesting to read that Girard identified the weaknesses in his own theory and, according to this author, would consider the prescriptive take an abuse of his theories.
1. "A" proposed theory "X".
2. "B" interpreted "X" as "Y" and used that as a guide to action.
3. Since "X" and "Y" are different, the actions of "B" are somehow illegitimate.
If the actions of "B" are of interest, the proper focus of study is what "Y" really consists of and how it relates to the actions and outcomes of "B". What "A" did or did not propose really is of no interest unless you are specifically studying "A" instead of "B".
This is missing something essential: did B correctly or incorrectly interpret X as Y?
The argument is that if B had correctly interpreted X, and used X as a guide to action, then B's actions would have been quite different from what they are.
It would be strange to say, "Who cares about what Jesus said? We're only interested in what contemporary Christians are doing." It's strange because contemporary Christians themselves claim that they are following Jesus and care what Jesus said. If they've grossly misinterpreted Jesus, then that's a legitimate criticism of their beliefs and actions.
The result is pre-determined.
The days of obscure geeks are long gone. The "geeks" have inherited the Earth. Tech has eaten the world. With great power comes great responsibility... or irresponsibility, as the case may be.