The One by Whom Scandal Comes (Studies in Violence, Mimesis & Culture) - Softcover

Girard, René

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1611861098 ISBN 13: 9781611861099

Publisher: Michigan State University Press, 2014

Synopsis

“Why is there so much violence in our midst?” René Girard asks. “No question is more debated today. And none produces more disappointing answers.” In Girard’s mimetic theory it is the imitation of someone else’s desire that gives rise to conflict whenever the desired object cannot be shared. This mimetic rivalry, Girard argues, is responsible for the frequency and escalating intensity of human conflict. For Girard, human conflict comes not from the loss of reciprocity between humans but from the transition, imperceptible at first but then ever more rapid, from good to bad reciprocity. In this landmark text, Girard continues his study of violence in light of geopolitical competition, focusing on the roots and outcomes of violence across societies latent in the process of globalization. The volume concludes in a wide-ranging interview with the Sicilian cultural theorist Maria Stella Barberi, where Girard’s twenty-first century emphases on the continuity of all religions, global conflict, and the necessity of apocalyptic thinking emerge.

About this title

About the Author:

René Girard is a member of the French Academy and Emeritus Professor at Stanford University. His books have been translated and acclaimed worldwide. He received the Modern Language Association’s Award for Lifetime Scholarly Achievement in 2008.

About this edition

• Publisher: Michigan State University Press
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 1611861098
• ISBN 13: 9781611861099
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 152