René Girard was a French-born philosopher, literary critic, and religion scholar whose work on mimetic desire and the scapegoat mechanism has been influential in academic circles. Through his student, the entrepreneur and political figure…
What is René Girard known for?René Girard was a French-born philosopher, literary critic, and scholar of religion who is best known for his theories of mimetic desire and the social role of the scapegoat. These theories have been influential in numerous academic fields and cited by contemporary political figures. His analysis of Freudian psychology and his theological engagement with Christianity have also been influential.What is mimetic desire according to René Girard?According to René Girard, mimetic, or imitative, desire is the idea that humans desire things not because of a desire for the thing itself but because others possess or desire those things. This desire then creates distinctive interpersonal dynamics. Girard developed the idea first in his analysis of Romantic literature and later supported it through anthropological analysis. To illustrate, one might imagine a small child who wants a sibling’s toy while simultaneously holding a similar toy. Girard saw an analogous dynamic underlying much of human desire, interpersonal relations, and politics.What is the scapegoat mechanism in René Girard’s theory?The scapegoat mechanism, according to René Girard, is a society’s method for dissipating tensions by redirecting violence to an outsider, sacrificing the outsider in order to maintain social stability. Building on a wide range of anthropological, historical, and ritual studies, Girard contends that the sacrifice of the innocent scapegoat (whether through death or expulsion) serves to hide and release the interpersonal tensions within a community wrought by mimetic desire.
A friend and colleague of Léon Foucault, [1 ] Girard was most notable for his work with impulse turbines. His 1856 design greatly improved on the Jonval turbines that were then common, although it was in turn supplanted by the Pelton wheel…
Pointing out that every major theorist of sacrifice is French, including Bataille, Durkheim, Girard, Hubert, and Mauss, Strenski argues that we cannot fully understand their work without first taking into account the deep roots of…