The Mimetic Brain

The discovery of mirror neurons in the 1990s led to an explosion of research and debate about the imitative capacities of the human brain. Some herald a paradigm shift on the order of DNA in biology, while others remain skeptical. In this revolutionary volume Jean- Michel Oughourlian shows how the h [...]
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The discovery of mirror neurons in the 1990s led to an explosion of research and debate about the imitative capacities of the human brain. Some herald a paradigm shift on the order of DNA in biology, while others remain skeptical. In this revolutionary volume Jean- Michel Oughourlian shows how the hypotheses of Rene Girard can be combined with the insights of neuroscientists to shed new light on the mimetic brain.
Offering up clinical studies and a complete reevaluation of classical psychiatry, Oughourlian explores the interaction among reason, emotions, and imitation and reveals that rivalry the blind spot in contemporary neuroscientific understandings of imitation is a misunderstood driving force behind mental illness. Oughourlian s analyses shake the very foundations of psychiatry as we know it and open up new avenues for both theoretical research and clinical practice."