![Preview of René Girard's Mimetic Theory (Studies in Violence, Mimesis & Culture)](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51q0ytGUn3L.jpg)
updated 5d ago
updated 5d ago
Not every instance of mimetic behavior, however, results necessarily in conflict. As long as desire is directed at an object that can be shared—learning a language, reading a book, listening to a piece of music, etc.—mimesis poses no problems. As soon as the object of desire can no longer be shared—as with objects of sexual desire, social positions
... See moreWhile mythical religions are based on texts that are told from the perspective of persecutors, the biblical writings show solidarity with the victims of sacrificial persecution.
He argues that humans do not themselves know what to desire; as a result, they imitate the desires of others.
“The principal source of violence between human beings is mimetic rivalry, the rivalry resulting from imitation of a model who becomes a rival or of a rival who becomes a model”
The mimetic theory is first and foremost a theory of religion. It describes the “religious” dimension of interpersonal relations—the idolatry of models or sexual partners—just as it explains the origins of archaic religions and the qualitative difference between these and the Judeo-Christian tradition.
As the metaphysical distance between desiring subject and model diminishes—the key component of internal mediation—the potential for rivalry and violence increases.
To better understand this concept, we must examine Girard’s usage of the term “scapegoat” more closely. The term first appears in the book of Leviticus (16) and describes a rite in which the high priest symbolically laid the sins of the community on the back of a goat, which was then cast into the wilderness to the demon Azazel.
For over two decades, religions—especially those giving rise to fundamentalist groups—have played an increasingly important role on the global stage. The year 1979, in particular, comes to mind, when Ayatollah Khomeini declared Iran an Islamic theocratic state.
Girard’s mimetic theory is based in essence on the literary insight into man’s unalterable religious nature. Looked at systematically, his position can be understood as follows: Human beings have the choice between recognition of the one true God and arbitrary idolatry.
The mimetic theory describes man as a social being that is dependent on relations to others. No human being, in other words, is intrinsically complete.