The tenth commandment of the Decalogue in the books of Exodus and Deuteronomy addresses mimetic desire directly. The tenth commandment does not prohibit simply one desire, "coveting," but deals with desire as such. Desire is not an instinct; it is not some-thing programmed into us, so it doesn't work like instincts in other creatures. It is rather a potential that must become activated for an infant to become human, and it becomes actual for the infant as he or she observes and imitates the other, the "neighbor." We want what our neighbor possesses.
