Uploaded June 2017 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
What is blame? What happens when you assign responsibility to someone else, or to a group of people, and use that to inform how you treat them? What does scapegoating accomplish, and what is the root cause of tribalism?
Kevin examines philosopher René Girard’s Mimetic Desire and Scapegoat Mechanism concepts to unearth the very core of human behavior and how we function as a society. It all starts with babies imitating adults immediately out of the womb, and it ends with burning disco albums at a baseball game. Somehow that bizarre human journey all makes sense -- and you’ll know more about yourself and the world around you.
**** LINKS AND SOURCES ****
BOOKS
The Scapegoat by René Girard on Amazon
geni.us/TheScapegoat
Evolution and Conversion: Dialogues on the Origins of Culture by René Girard on Amazon
geni.us/EvolutionAndConversion
René Girard and Myth by Richard Golsan on Amazon
geni.us/ReneGirardandMyth
Mimesis and Science: Empirical Research on Imitation and the Mimetic Theory of Culture and Religion by Scott R. Garrels on Amazon
geni.us/MimesisAndScience
Patterns of Culture by Ruth Benedict on Amazon
geni.us/PatternsOfCulture
RESOURCES
René Girard
http://www.iep.utm.edu/girard/
youtube.com/watch?v=BNkSBy5wWDk
vimeo.com/123072513
180rule.com/rene-girards-mimetic-theory-the-scapegoat
https://alumni.stanford.edu/get/page/magazine/article/?article_id=29620
Waiting For The Barbarians by C. P. Cavafy
cavafy.com/poems/content.asp?id=119&cat=1
RESEARCH
Orgins Of The Modern Mind: Three Stages In The Evolution Of Culture And Cognition by Merlin Donald
http://cognitrn.psych.indiana.edu/busey/q551/PDFs/DonaldEvolution.pdf
Born To Learn: What Infants Learn From Watching Us by Andrew Meltzoff
http://ilabs.washington.edu/meltzoff/pdf/99Meltzoff_BornToLearn.pdf
Imitation Of Facial And Manual Gestures by Human Neonates by Andrew Meltzoff and M. Keith Moore
science.sciencemag.org/content/198/4312/75
ASSET CREDITS
René Girard Interview by Rev Dr Steven E Berry
youtube.com/watch?v=YWsU5rXDFVc
youtube.com/watch?v=VN9-PFCJMQQ
CARTA: Is the Human Mind Unique? -- Merlin Donald: Skilled Performance and Artistry by UCTV
youtube.com/watch?v=5EOKOKp2QlM
Dodson’s Hollywood Monkey Stars by Chevrolet News Newsreel
youtube.com/watch?v=b-z1b0JZxgc
Maltese Dog Dancing And Eating An Orange by Gerardo Camba
youtube.com/watch?v=CgX_Ur6T3g8
Experiments with chimpanzees, works of N. Ladygina-Kohts
youtube.com/watch?v=8imskoHgAb0
YOUTUBERS
Ethan - h3h3Productions
youtube.com/user/h3h3Productions
Destin - Smarter Every Day
youtube.com/user/destinws2
Lex - MadeYewLook
youtube.com/user/MadeYewLook
Austin Evans
youtube.com/user/duncan33303
Mary Doodles
youtube.com/user/marydoodles
Dianna - Physics Girl
youtube.com/user/physicswoman
Derek - Veritasium
youtube.com/user/1veritasium
Jake - Vsauce3
youtube.com/user/Vsauce3
Michael - Vsauce1
youtube.com/user/Vsauce
VSAUCE CREDITS
Written, Produced, Edited and Hosted by Kevin Lieber
Instagram: instagram.com/kevlieber
Twitter: twitter.com/kevinlieber
Website: kevinlieber.com
Contributing Researcher & Editor Matthew Tabor, Koala Fight Media
http://koala.fm/
VFX by Eric Langlay
youtube.com/c/ericlanglay
Sound Design by Jay Pellizzi
jaypellizzi.com
Select Music by Jake Chudnow
youtube.com/user/jakechudnow
Special Thanks Paula Lieber
twitter.com/pixichuu
Special Thanks Andrew Meltzoff, Ph.D.
http://ilabs.uw.edu/institute-faculty/bio/i-labs-andrew-n-meltzoff-phd
Special Thanks Dr. Richard J. Golsan
http://glasscock.tamu.edu/about-us/glasscock-center-staff/richard-j-golsan-director/
Vsauce2 Links
Twitter: twitter.com/VsauceTwo
Facebook: facebook.com/VsauceTwo
Website: Vsauce.com
Curiosity Box: curiositybox.com
My Father's Guitars - Lieber Guitars
lieberguitars.com
What is blame? What happens when you assign responsibility to someone else, or to a group of people, and use that to inform how you treat them? What does scapegoating accomplish, and what is the root cause of tribalism?
Kevin examines philosopher René Girard’s Mimetic Desire and Scapegoat Mechanism concepts to unearth the very core of human behavior and how we function as a society. It all starts with babies imitating adults immediately out of the womb, and it ends with burning disco albums at a baseball game. Somehow that bizarre human journey all makes sense -- and you’ll know more about yourself and the world around you.
**** LINKS AND SOURCES ****
BOOKS
The Scapegoat by René Girard on Amazon
geni.us/TheScapegoat
Evolution and Conversion: Dialogues on the Origins of Culture by René Girard on Amazon
geni.us/EvolutionAndConversion
René Girard and Myth by Richard Golsan on Amazon
geni.us/ReneGirardandMyth
Mimesis and Science: Empirical Research on Imitation and the Mimetic Theory of Culture and Religion by Scott R. Garrels on Amazon
geni.us/MimesisAndScience
Patterns of Culture by Ruth Benedict on Amazon
geni.us/PatternsOfCulture
RESOURCES
René Girard
http://www.iep.utm.edu/girard/
youtube.com/watch?v=BNkSBy5wWDk
vimeo.com/123072513
180rule.com/rene-girards-mimetic-theory-the-scapegoat
https://alumni.stanford.edu/get/page/magazine/article/?article_id=29620
Waiting For The Barbarians by C. P. Cavafy
cavafy.com/poems/content.asp?id=119&cat=1
RESEARCH
Orgins Of The Modern Mind: Three Stages In The Evolution Of Culture And Cognition by Merlin Donald
http://cognitrn.psych.indiana.edu/busey/q551/PDFs/DonaldEvolution.pdf
Born To Learn: What Infants Learn From Watching Us by Andrew Meltzoff
http://ilabs.washington.edu/meltzoff/pdf/99Meltzoff_BornToLearn.pdf
Imitation Of Facial And Manual Gestures by Human Neonates by Andrew Meltzoff and M. Keith Moore
science.sciencemag.org/content/198/4312/75
ASSET CREDITS
René Girard Interview by Rev Dr Steven E Berry
youtube.com/watch?v=YWsU5rXDFVc
youtube.com/watch?v=VN9-PFCJMQQ
CARTA: Is the Human Mind Unique? -- Merlin Donald: Skilled Performance and Artistry by UCTV
youtube.com/watch?v=5EOKOKp2QlM
Dodson’s Hollywood Monkey Stars by Chevrolet News Newsreel
youtube.com/watch?v=b-z1b0JZxgc
Maltese Dog Dancing And Eating An Orange by Gerardo Camba
youtube.com/watch?v=CgX_Ur6T3g8
Experiments with chimpanzees, works of N. Ladygina-Kohts
youtube.com/watch?v=8imskoHgAb0
YOUTUBERS
Ethan - h3h3Productions
youtube.com/user/h3h3Productions
Destin - Smarter Every Day
youtube.com/user/destinws2
Lex - MadeYewLook
youtube.com/user/MadeYewLook
Austin Evans
youtube.com/user/duncan33303
Mary Doodles
youtube.com/user/marydoodles
Dianna - Physics Girl
youtube.com/user/physicswoman
Derek - Veritasium
youtube.com/user/1veritasium
Jake - Vsauce3
youtube.com/user/Vsauce3
Michael - Vsauce1
youtube.com/user/Vsauce
VSAUCE CREDITS
Written, Produced, Edited and Hosted by Kevin Lieber
Instagram: instagram.com/kevlieber
Twitter: twitter.com/kevinlieber
Website: kevinlieber.com
Contributing Researcher & Editor Matthew Tabor, Koala Fight Media
http://koala.fm/
VFX by Eric Langlay
youtube.com/c/ericlanglay
Sound Design by Jay Pellizzi
jaypellizzi.com
Select Music by Jake Chudnow
youtube.com/user/jakechudnow
Special Thanks Paula Lieber
twitter.com/pixichuu
Special Thanks Andrew Meltzoff, Ph.D.
http://ilabs.uw.edu/institute-faculty/bio/i-labs-andrew-n-meltzoff-phd
Special Thanks Dr. Richard J. Golsan
http://glasscock.tamu.edu/about-us/glasscock-center-staff/richard-j-golsan-director/
Vsauce2 Links
Twitter: twitter.com/VsauceTwo
Facebook: facebook.com/VsauceTwo
Website: Vsauce.com
Curiosity Box: curiositybox.com
My Father's Guitars - Lieber Guitars
lieberguitars.com
