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The Ideas of Rene Girard: An Anthropology of Religion and Violence
Mimetic theory, developed by René Girard, is a sweeping explanation of human behavior, desire, conflict, religion, and culture. Here’s a clear and direct overview you can use in your writing or thinking:
1. Mimetic Desire
At the core of the theory is a simple but explosive claim:
We do not generate our desires autonomously. We imitate what others
In primitive societies, such crises were resolved by the "scapegoating mechanism," in which the community, en masse, turned on an unpremeditated victim. The repression of this collective murder and its repetition in ritual sacrifice then formed the foundations of both religion and the restored social order.