René Girard and the Legacy of Alexandre Kojeve

2003 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 111-125
Author(s):  
George Erving
Keyword(s):  
Alexandre Kojeve ◽  
Rene Girard ◽  
René Girard

L'identité du social et du religieux selon René Girard

1980 ◽  
Vol 78 (37) ◽  
pp. 71-90
Author(s):  
Claude Troisfontaines
Keyword(s):  
Rene Girard ◽  
René Girard

Polarized Readings of René Girard: Utilizing Girardian Thought to Break a Theological and Philosophical Impasse

2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-42
Author(s):  
Colby Dickinson
Keyword(s):  
Religious Values ◽  
Rene Girard ◽  
René Girard

René Girard’s work often seems suspect to liberals, because it appears as a totalizing narrative. Such hesitancy with respect to either dismissing or endorsing it follows from the demise of “grand narratives” that brought with them imperialistic and hegemonic tendencies. Yet if a liberal viewpoint does not embrace Girard, it is for different reasons that conservatives are either fully supportive of his thought as promising a return to religious values or hesitant about accepting his theories because they critique a form of violence inherent to any community. Girardian thought, it can be argued, has focused on deconstructing mythological justifications for violent activity at the expense of establishing a fruitful position regarding positive communal formations. The tensions between these juxtaposed liberal and conservative viewpoints, as taken up in this article, illustrate an impasse between deconstructivist-genealogists (representing trends within liberal discourse) and communitarians (representing conservative or orthodox viewpoints)—one that shows up in a variety of contexts today. Highlighting this particular standoff in interpretations of Girard can, nevertheless, yield important insights regarding the ultimate significance of his work.

Religious Rivalry in the Seventeenth Century: A Buddhist–Christian Case in China

2021 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 102-123
Author(s):  
Amy Yu Fu
Keyword(s):  
Seventeenth Century ◽  
Chinese Society ◽  
Creative Imagination ◽  
Rene Girard ◽  
René Girard ◽  
Religious Perspectives

To shed new light on the place of Christianity in seventeenth-century Chinese society and the debates and conflicts between Christians and Buddhists, this paper reflects on Christians' critiques of Buddhist dogma and praxis as well as rejoinders from the Buddhists. It will focus on the sustained debates, roughly between 1590 and 1690, with regard to the relative ‘merits and defects’ as represented in polemical texts. Several treatises serve as the essential link of the continuous debates, eliciting back-and-forth elaboration and rebuttals from both sides. Through an analysis of the polemical discourse, I argue that the Buddhist–Christian case offers an instance of what René Girard termed ‘mimetic rivalry’. The conflict entails internal rivalry resulting not only from different religious perspectives but also from social, cultural and economic ones. Seeking interconnectedness between traditions by creative imagination and analogy may offer a way out of ignorance and enmity in dealing with interreligious relationship. 1

scholarly journals Raison de la différence, différence de la raison

2006 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 157-165
Author(s):  
Danielle Blondeau
Keyword(s):  
Present Article ◽  
Rene Girard ◽  
René Girard

Résumé Le présent article propose une vision particulière de l'institutionnalisation psychiatrique. L'analyse découle de l'étude de l'hypothèse anthropologique de René Girard dont la pierre angulaire est le mimétisme. Cette approche permet l'exploration des motifs qui prévalent véritablement à l'institutionnalisation et met en lumière le mécanisme victimaire opérant dans le phénomène de l'internement. Il dévoile la nécessité du malade mental en tant que bouc émissaire d'une société en quête d'harmonie et de paix. Et la circonscription de la différence devient en quelque sorte le générateur d'aliénation du différent. En guise de conclusion, et à la lumière de la perspective girardienne, l'ouverture à autrui suggère la création de nouveaux rapports chez les êtres humains, de soi avec les autres et de soi avec soi-même.

scholarly journals Gandhi’s Militant Nonviolence in the Light of Girard’s Mimetic Anthropology

Religions ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (11) ◽  
pp. 988
Author(s):  
Wolfgang Palaver
Keyword(s):  
Fear Of Death ◽  
Mimetic Theory ◽  
Rene Girard ◽  
Cultural Anthropologist ◽  
René Girard ◽  
Contagious Nature ◽  
Nonviolent Action ◽  
God's Grace

Nuclear rivalry, as well as terrorism and the war against terror, exemplify the dangerous escalation of violence that is threatening our world. Gandhi’s militant nonviolence offers a possible alternative that avoids a complacent indifference toward injustice as well as the imitation of violence that leads to its escalation. The French-American cultural anthropologist René Girard discovered mimetic rivalries as one of the main roots of human conflicts, and also highlighted the contagious nature of violence. This article shows that Gandhi shares these basic insights of Girard’s anthropology, which increases the plausibility of his plea for nonviolence. Reading Gandhi with Girard also complements Girard’s mimetic theory by offering an active practice of nonviolence as a response to violent threats, and by broadening the scope of its religious outreach. Gandhi’s reading of the Sermon on Mount not only renounces violence and retaliation like Girard but also underlines the need to actively break with evil. Both Gandhi and Girard also address the religious preconditions of nonviolent action by underlining the need to prefer godly over worldly pursuits, and to overcome the fear of death by God’s grace. This congruence shows that Girard’s anthropology is valid beyond its usual affinity with Judaism and Christianity.

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