A critical review on the mimetic theory of René Girard: Politics, religion, and violence

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muzzamel Hussain Imran ◽  
Zhihong Zhai
Keyword(s):  
Critical Review ◽  
Mimetic Theory ◽  
Rene Girard ◽  
René Girard

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.

Grant Kaplan’s René Girard, Unlikely Apologist: Mimetic Theory and Fundamental Theology

Pro Ecclesia ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 446-454
Author(s):  
John D. Dadosky
Keyword(s):  
Catholic Social Teaching ◽  
Bernard Lonergan ◽  
Social Teaching ◽  
Christian Identity ◽  
Mimetic Theory ◽  
Fundamental Theology ◽  
Rene Girard ◽  
René Girard ◽  
Important Study ◽  
Preferential Option

This article review’s Grant Kaplan’s, René Girard, Unlikely Apologist: Mimetic Theory and Fundamental Theology. The content of the book offers the occasion to comment on some themes in Girard’s thought in relation to theology. In particular it expands upon it with reference to some of the insights from Bernard Lonergan. Girard’s legacy can contribute to a reaffirmation of the uniqueness of Christian identity in a pluralistic age, and a contribution to Catholic social teaching --i.e. a preferential option for the scapegoated and marginalized. Although he reclaimed his Christian roots, Girard was neither a philosopher nor a theologian. Therefore, some of his provocative insights, while valuable, stand in need of a critical appropriation. Kaplan’s important study provides an oppurtunity to raise some of those questions.

scholarly journals Desmitificación y revalorización de la libertad a través de Girard y Morin

2019 ◽  
pp. 115
Author(s):  
Agustín Moreno Fernández
Keyword(s):  
Mimetic Theory ◽  
Rene Girard ◽  
René Girard ◽  
Interdisciplinary Approaches ◽  
The Subject

Resumen: La idea de libertad es fundamental en la Ilustración y en las democracias y hemos de seguir repensándola. La heteronomía mimética y la disolución del sujeto niegan aparentemente la libertad y la autonomía subjetivas en la teoría mimética girardiana. Sin embargo, se demuestra cómo Girard no sólo desmitifica la libertad moderna sino que al enfatizar la dificultad de su ejercicio la revaloriza e invita a la responsabilidad. Proponemos el paradigma de la complejidad de Morin para completar la visión girardiana de la libertad. De este trabajo se concluye que es posible y necesario conciliar: mimetismo humano y emancipación; heteronomía y autonomía; dependencia y libertad; enfoques filosófico, humanístico, científico e interdisciplinar. Abstract: The idea of Freedom is fundamental in Enlightenment and in democracies and we have to rethink it. The mimetic heteronomy and the dissolution of the subject apparently deny subjective freedom and autonomy in mimetic theory. Nevertheless, we can observe René Girard not only demystifies modern freedom but when he underlines the difficulty for practicing it, he increases its value and invites responsibility. We propose Morin's complexity paradigm for completing the girardian approach about freedom.  It is possible to combine: human mimetism and emancipation; heteronomy and autonomy; dependence and freedom; philosophical, humanistic, scientific and interdisciplinary approaches.

René Girard and His Critics: The Theological Compatibility and Framework of His Early Mimetic Theory

2021 ◽  
Vol 82 (2) ◽  
pp. 259-284
Author(s):  
Joel Hodge
Keyword(s):  
Catholic Theology ◽  
Mimetic Theory ◽  
Rene Girard ◽  
René Girard ◽  
Foundational Work ◽  
Human Desire ◽  
The Way

Theologians such as Sarah Coakley have recently argued that René Girard’s mimetic theory is incompatible with fundamental Catholic doctrines. Particular criticism is made of Girard’s early and foundational work on human desire and the formation of culture. In this essay, I address these major criticisms by systematically engaging Girard’s understandings of desire and culture from the earliest stages of his work. In doing this, I demonstrate the compatibility of his work with key Catholic doctrines and the way that Catholic theology provides an appropriate theological framework for Girard’s ideas, including from the earliest stages of his work.

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