Discovering Girard

by Michael Kirwan

Rene Girard is a thinker who escapes categorization. Both literary critic and anthropologist, not exactly a theorist nor quite a theologian, he even escapes the ubiquitous distinction between modernism and post-modernism. Perhaps because of this, he is one of the more obscure of the many interlocutors with whom theology has engaged over the last couple of decades. If less well known, however, he is no less important, as the extended treatments of his work by the likes of Hans Urs von Balthasar and John Milbank testify.

Genres: Philosophy, Religion, Nonfiction, Theology, Christianity

137 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2004

Reviews

[BlackOxford · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading the Runes

Since as far back as historical records exist, there have been periodic crises and 'big issues' of national government: Are we doing it right? What's gone wrong? Do we need basic reform or a return to basics?

The experts called upon to suggest answers to these questions have varied. The Babylonian emperor consulted his resident astrologer for advice on propitious timing for action. The Roman Consuls preferred the entrails of birds, as interpreted by official priests, particularly the Pontifex Maximus, as the source for good government policy. Medieval European monarchs had their court theologians to suggest any divine inspiration that might have bypassed the royal direct line.

Heads of state during the Age of Enlightenment took more notice of philosophers than theologians in justifying governmental policy. With the triumph of representative democracy as the accepted gold standard for the organisation of political society, it seems that lawyers now dominate in the formulation of any response to questions involving issues like sovereignty and justice and equality.

Rene Girard has something different and original to say about the people who ought to be consulted about the effectiveness of our governmental and political institutions. He thinks that it should be readers, especially readers of great modern literature from Cervantes and Shakespeare to Dostoevsky and Proust, who are consulted about what's wrong and what has to be done about democratic government. Given the recent election results in the United States, it seems justifiable to quote the winner in that election: "What have you got to lose?"

Girard's theory is not as crazy at it might first sound. Among other things most people, or at least more people by far, in modern society can read than are astrologers or priests or theologians or philosophers or (perhaps by a narrower margin) lawyers. So it's a theory compatible with an increasingly democratic ethos. And the writers with whom he is obsessed certainly have a claim to be carriers of the best of the Western cultural intellectual heritage. Their track record is at least as credible as the political scientists, psychologists, and anthropologists that Girard pits them against.

Second, the theory explains rather better than any other why democracy periodically leads to some certifiably dodgy outcomes, including the involvement of religion in politics. Girard's basic principle is that none of us really know what we want...until someone else tells us what it is. We are an empathetic species, or at least a species capable of empathetic imagination. For Girard, this is a miraculous not a natural characteristic. It is also, of course.also the fundamental principle of advertising, and difficult to argue against on purely empirical grounds.

If more proof is necessary, one could simply cite the behaviour of US Republicans in supporting a candidate few of them wanted but almost all of them accepted. Religion is not just a way that we 'vent' the violence inherent in wanting similar things, that is, of conformity; it is a means of dissipating the cognitive dissonance of our membership in a democratic society. No wonder the Evangelicals voted Trump!

But our empathetic streak also gets us into trouble. America, for example, may be one of the most egalitarian places on the planet; but it is also one of the most conformist. On the one hand conformity breeds identity, but on the other hand it creates enormous resentment (with an emphasis on the feeling of being cheated that is part of the French word) which is always ready to erupt into some sort of protest. Conforming means wanting the same things, and therefore competing over a limited supply of those things. This situation creates a sort of background enmity which fundamentally threatens the very social cohesion it spawns.

Girard's ideas point to some important priorities in the improvement in democratic processes, namely the ability of democratic institutions to absorb the level of social as well as political violence which is inherent in democracy. This is in contradiction to the Fukuyama school of history that views democracy as a sort of stable political plateau for an ever-improving civilisation. According to Girard, violence will increase in intensity as democracy becomes...well more democratic. Given that this is exactly what has been happening in democracies from the US to Egypt over the last two decades, Girard has at least a modicum of street cred.

Girard’s theory is that conformist social tension is relieved by the creation of a political safety valve - a scapegoat. The scapegoat is made the focus of an otherwise diffuse violence. This mechanism permits the society to tolerate its inherent competitiveness and mistrust by allowing it to vent its resentful anger on the scapegoat. In Trump’s America, the scapegoat has been identified as immigrants, particularly Mexicans and Muslims. Score another point for Girard’s insight.

Finally, I think Girard provides not a small comfort to those who have been traumatised, not so much by recent political events themselves, as by the apparent lack of rationality in these events. That there might be a hidden but discoverable logic in what is going on in today's political world is no small contribution to the psychic health of millions...particularly if they read. One presumes that requirement means that no one in the Trump administration will therefore ever benefit from Girard.

Nonetheless, the rest of us might. Many of the classics demonstrate the persistence of Girard’s scapegoat mechanism throughout literary history. Familiarity with the tactics and tropes of scapegoating seems an essential political skill to be developed by reading. Who knows, reading may also be beneficial in disrupting the conformity of desires which necessitates the scapegoat in the first place. The fate of democracy may indeed lie in its libraries.

For a complementary literary example of Girard’s theory, see https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

This little book is a great introduction to Rene Girard's thought. In chapter one we are introduced to mimetic desire - we get our desires from others around us so that we end up desiring the same thing. This leads to conflict so, in chapter two, we learn of the scapegoat mechanism. To let off the steam necessary for culture to survive, scapegoats are found, blamed and killed. Girard sees this as the root of religion. This scapegoat can be internal (someone in the culture) or external (when one nation may go to war). Once you begin to grasp it, you see it everywhere.

The third chapter is on how the Christian Bible overturns the scapegoat mechanism by showing the innocence of the scapegoat. This is seen throughout, though most clearly in Jesus of Nazareth, the innocent victim. In killing an innocent scapegoat, the whole system is shown as faulty. Or we could say, the cycle of redemptive violence is broken.

The last two chapters are on some critiques of Girard as well as the future of his work.

Overall this is a good book if you want an introduction to Girard. That said, you can probably find almost as good an introduction online for free.

[Anne Hamilton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've long had an interest in the attitude of Christians towards violence: it's been an almost incomprehensible paradox to me. Why do so many people of faith celebrate and embrace violence? With their radar attuned to even the slightest hint of the sexually salacious, how is it that this mindset is so deeply entrenched that people don't notice it? This has always baffled me.

So a recommendation regarding Girard's books was intriguing enough to decide I'd look into some background first. And yes - perhaps this does indeed answer my questions. At least some of them.

Bits to explore further:
- skandalon, 'scandal', is the Greek word for 'stumbling block'.
- katéchon (1 Thessalonians) is the Greek word for 'restraining force'.
- Bauopfer is the German word for 'foundational sacrifice'. ('A house, a bridge, a dam will only be secure if a corpse lies beneath it,' quoting Burkert. Also quoting WH Auden's poem, Vespers.)

[C. Varn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kirwan's introduction to the thoughts of Rene Girard is helpful and incisive, but like Girard's work as one moves from memetic criticism to theology, the claims seem to take on a apologetic tone. Kirwan's explication is sound and he pulls from much of Girard's work, but he seems a bit too eager to defend Girard in the final chapter on Girard's critics and glosses over the serious problems that comparative religion from non-European sources does to the Girard's thesis as well as the problems that both textual and higher criticism post does the biblical "answer" to sacralized violence and individual m desire. Kirwan, however, does make Girard's insights on mimesis and individual culture clear as well as his insightful readings of Hegel, Hobbes, Shakespeare, and Nietzsche. If read with a mild skepticism towards its subject matter, I feel like this is a very useful introduction to the thought of Rene Girard.

[Nick Grammos · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm grateful to BlackOxford for introducing me to Girard. I must've spent too much time in the wilderness after graduating in the late 80s.
Now I must consider seriously the implications of metaphysical desire.

[Leonardo Bruno · Rating 4 out of 5]

Um guia básico e acessível para entender os principais conceitos do pensamento girardiano. Leigos em Girard como eu agradecem.

[Guilherme Smee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Acredito que a Teoria Mimética, desenvolvida por René Girard, é uma chave de leitura importante para entendermos os desacaminhos que a sociedade global tem tomado nos últimos anos. Segundo o autor deste livro, Michael Kirwan, que destrincha a Teoria Mimética, ela tem 3 fases: 1) a descoberta do desejo mimético, que é a força que o ser humano encontra na direção de imitar outros para obter status e pertencimento a um grupo; 2) a teoria do bode expiatório, que dirime a violência humana causada pelo desejo mimético que gera a competição. O bode expiatório seria uma canalização da violência humana em direção a um único "culpado". 3) por fim, a evangelização, que seria uma outra forma de lidar com essa violência gerada pelo desejo mimético, representada pela Bíblia, as parábolas e os evangelhos que vieram depois do sacrifício de Jesus Cristo. Na minha opinião acho válidas as duas primeiras teorias e acredito que a terceira poderia ser atualizada para elementos da cultura pop, que fariam o papel de novos evangelhos no sentido de trazerem parábolas que geram catarses de nosso instinto violento. Este livro é bastante esclarecedor e traz um entendimento mais apurado para as teorias girardianas, também aproximando elas de outras áreas do conhecimento e de outros célebres pensadores como Freud e Nietsche.

[John Scott]

A brief overview of Girard's theory of "mimetic desire", a very simple mechanism easily comprehended and quite obvious. What is brilliant is the exploration Girard performed by a thorough consideration of the consequences that follow from grasping the mechanic. I am not perfectly convinced of his 'grand narrative' nor of the direction he takes to get to his conclusions. I am deeply impressed by his grasp of the importance of recognizing that objects of desire are learnt, not given. His thought is exciting and brilliant and this short text gives a point of entry that elucidates it's many directions. An enjoyable read.

[Alexandru Todea · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve read this book with the intention of studying and become accustomed to Rene Girard’s philosophical themes. It did not disappoint, especially the first chapter that explains concepts such as the scapegoat, mimetic theory, the triangle of desires, etc.

One aspect about the book that i found particularly interesting is the antagonistic view that Girard has when it comes to interpret myths and the Gospel.

Rene Girard’s work has a rather shamanic touch, which, as a logical person, i both hate and love because it forces me to think deeply on various cultural aspects related to mimesis and the concept of a scapegoat. It paved the way to start reading his works.

[Manish · Rating 4 out of 5]

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