The Revelatory Power of Mimetic Theory - (Violence, Desire, and the Sacred) by Benoît Chantre & Paul Dumouchel (Hardcover)

About the Book

A one-of-a-kind overview of the lasting impact of mimetic theory and the extent of its interdisciplinary applications, a century after René Girard's birth.

Book Synopsis

A one-of-a-kind overview of the lasting impact of mimetic theory and the extent of its interdisciplinary applications, acentury afterRené Girard's birth.

Bringing together a team of established scholars from different disciplines, this collection assesses how much the theory has developed over Girard's lifetime and beyond. Literary texts and myths are analysed through a mimetic lens, revealing the underlying patterns of rivalry, violence, and sacrifice. Mimetic theory is then applied to real-world phenomena, such as terrorism, social conflict, and ecological crises, demonstrating its relevance in the 21st century.

Each chapter collected here demonstrates mimetic theory's on-going capacity to open up new avenues in philosophy, disability studies, literature and beyond. Girard argued that texts, whether religious, literary, or anthropological reveal fundamental aspects of the world. Inspired by this chapters drawing on a rich selection of works and authors including DH Lawrence, Oedipus Rex, Hannah Arendt, and Michel Houellebecq to reveal innovative uses of his theory.

By illustrating how Girard's ideas are being used by specialists and practitioners across diverse fields, this expansive exploration of mimetic theory tackles timely topics from social media and terrorism prevention to toxic masculinity and conspiracy theories. It is for anyone interested in understanding human behavior and culture from multiple perspectives.

Review Quotes

"A bold and timely contribution, The Revelatory Power of Mimetic Theory demonstrates the undiminished vitality of Girard's insights in illuminating both texts and contemporary crises. Essential reading for anyone interested in the intersections of desire, violence, and meaning."
-Paolo Diego Bubbio, University of Turin, author of Intellectual Sacrifice and Other Mimetic Paradoxes.

Girard's revelatory mimetic theory offers the most profound and persuasive diagnosis today of our world of unhinged violence. One of the essays in this outstanding collection of research tells us that violence is "like being mad." Together these contributions represent a sustained quest for historical sanity--the hope of therapy for a world in peak crisis!

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In this utterly timely collection of research Benoit Chantre and Paul Dumouchel bring a powerful addition to the secondary material continually growing out of Rene Girard's mimetic theory. In classic Girardian fashion, its contents move seamlessly from profound literary analyses, unearthing the roots of human desire, to real-world commentary dealing with political philosophy, terrorism, nuclear deterrence, technology, psychiatry, abuse. As Chantre tells us Girard's work passes "through the lie of representations to reach the real of relationality." Barbara Carnevalli explains that for Girard "deviated transcendence"-meaning that modern humans make gods of each other-lies at the root of all current social pathologies. She does not hesitate to draw a line from St. Augustine to this conclusion, but the difference is that with Girard our pathologies are not so much a matter of sin as the very mimetic structure of our relationships. The standard solution of the collective scapegoat is something Girard first gleaned from reading Sophocles' Oedipus (Marc Anspach), but with the modern Gospel-inspired status of the victim this has become progressively self-defeating. The impasse humanity finds itself at leads one writer to suggest that today's true origin of humanity is not the murderous Cain but Abel-his name meaning smoke or mist, something non-foundational (essentially without violence), which amounts to a vitally needed "restatement - not a beginning - of history." The volume constitutes a sustained reflection at the deepest level of our current human crisis.
Dr. Anthony Bartlett, Bethany Center for Nonviolent Theology and Spirituality.

The essays, from a conference commemorating the centennial of Girard's birth, provide robust testimony that his thought, carried on by a variety of scholars across the spectrum of disciplines, maintains its ability to open up new perspectives on traditional problems and address the emergent challenges of the twenty-first century.
Jeremiah Alberg, Professor of Philosophy, International Christian University, Tokyo, Japan.

About the Author

Paul Dumouchel is Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Québec-Montréal, Canada.

Benoît Chantre is President of the Mimetic Research Association, France.