[wenc]

I've read Girard and watched many of his lectures (including the 5-part series).

I generally agree with mimetic theory and find it explanatory in many situations. It is a useful theory in that sense.

Like all theories, I think it has its limits. As you noted, I don't think it fully explains the formation of all desires. For instance, for me it seems to not explain novel desire. What if we had several models of desire (i.e. other people, inspiration from nature, etc.), and we were to "synthesize" a new desire that was heretofore unthought of? Is that new desire mimetic? I suppose you could argue that the new desire was intermediated by several models, but it seems to not allow for the possibility of creativity, even if that creativity was merely the blending of several models.

[twayt]

For induction to work, you need to have a base-case to apply the inductive rule to.

There definitionally has to be at least one desire that isn't derived from others.

I don't think Girard would ever seriously have made the absolute claim that all desire is mimetic.