Rene Girard 'Mimetic Theory' Research Papers (original) (raw)

Compelling voices charge that the theological notion of “sacrifice” valorizes suffering and fosters a culture of violence by the claim that Christ’s death on the Cross paid for human sins. Beneath the ‘sacred’ violence of sacrifice, René... more

The usual criticisms of critical race theory (CRT) have become patent and cliché by now. CRT essentializes race and those within races, figuring all white people as racist and all black people as oppressed. It treats people not as... more

The usual criticisms of critical race theory (CRT) have become patent and cliché by now. CRT essentializes race and those within races, figuring all white people as racist and all black people as oppressed. It treats people not as individuals with individual motives and goals but strictly as members of their racial group. It denies individual agency to the very people it aims to liberate. It implies that racial group membership determines the beliefs and behaviors of those within said groups, curtailing an appreciation of their full humanity. It ascribes all outcomes to racial group membership, thereby denying merit to those in the "dominant" category (whites), while denying responsibility to those in the "subordinated" categories (blacks, indigenous, and people of color, or BIPOC). It makes contemporary white people guilty for the sins of long-dead white people who bene!ted from slavery. By incessantly harping on race, it exacerbates if it doesn't create racial strife. CRT is divisive and threatens the social order by provoking perpetual enmity between the races. So, the story goes. The same kinds of criticisms may be leveled at critical whiteness studies (CWS). Such analyses are by now legion. Rather than engaging in this kind of critical commentary, in this article, I aim to understand how CRT and its offshoot, CWS, function in the social field. Just how does the "abolition of whiteness"--arguably the ultimate goal of CRT and CWS--operate? How might we understand CRT's and CWS's treatment of whiteness and the intention to abolish it?

based on salient points of queer theory, including mimetic desire, homosexual panic, the apparitional lesbian, the triangularity of desire and the figure of two-in-one. These theories are adapted and expanded to explain the bisexual and... more

based on salient points of queer theory, including mimetic desire, homosexual panic, the apparitional lesbian, the triangularity of desire and the figure of two-in-one. These theories are adapted and expanded to explain the bisexual and polyamorous practices of love observed in the film, including compersion or the ability to love those who love our lovers. The three main characters, a butch lesbian from Paris, a bisexual woman from Spain and her philandering husband from Provence, intertwine their lives as they learn to be in touch with themselves, fair to each other and inclusive. The article explains how these practices are conducive of the "plural happiness" observed at the film's concluson, where the three protagonists form a bi and poly triad with the bi woman in the middle and an expanded family that includes three parents and their three children. The author argues that the bi and poly practices of love observed in the film are good for the planet because they are conducive of ecological and emotional sustainability.

I wish I would first have checked to see what the Gospel reading was for this Sunday before I volunteered to preside at this service. The Gospel reading is a doosey of a text. “Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth?... more

I wish I would first have checked to see what the Gospel reading was for this Sunday before I volunteered to preside at this service. The Gospel reading is a doosey of a text.
“Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division! …” All this talk of fire and division and households deeply divided. All this against stuff in a family. Its as if Jesus some kind of divine family arsonist instead of the Prince of Peace.

Proceedings of the International Conference “Humanities and Social Sciences Today. Classical and
Contemporary Issues” – Philosophy and Other Humanities, Iasi, 2015

Esta publicação é fruto do colóquio Múltiplo Machado, realizado pela e na Casa de Leitura Dirce Côrtes Riedel entre os dias 27 e 30 de abril de 2015 por ocasião do centenário de nascimento da ilustre professora a quem a casa é dedicada.... more

Esta publicação é fruto do colóquio Múltiplo Machado,
realizado pela e na Casa de Leitura Dirce Côrtes Riedel entre
os dias 27 e 30 de abril de 2015 por ocasião do centenário
de nascimento da ilustre professora a quem a casa é dedicada. Propiciando o encontro de intelectuais de renome com o
propósito de estudar e discutir diversos aspectos da obra do
autor mais relevante da nossa literatura, o tema do evento,
na verdade, se revestia de especialíssimo significado, dado que
ao nome da homenageada se associava o do escritor de sua
preferência a cuja obra dedicou-se com esmero ao longo da
vida produzindo trabalhos de reconhecida relevância.

An attempt to read Plato's Republic through the lens of Rene Girard's mimetic theory.

Il presente contributo concerne, essenzialmente, temi che emergono dalla prima produzione di René Girard, quella definita di «critica letteraria», e che sono apparsi, in parte almeno, debitori della riflessione di un autore come Jules de... more

Il presente contributo concerne, essenzialmente, temi che emergono dalla prima produzione di René Girard, quella definita di «critica letteraria», e che sono apparsi, in parte almeno, debitori della riflessione di un autore come Jules de Gaultier, il cui nome è andato in larga misura dimenticato, laddove, invece, si è, in vari ambiti, mantenuto il nucleo centrale della sua speculazione, ossia, la nozione di bovarismo. Per questo motivo, si tenterà qui di dare conto del rapporto tra i due autori, di sintetizzare le riflessioni centrali in Gaultier come momento necessario per sviluppare un confronto che si apra nella prospettiva di un'analisi sul male e sulla possibilità, o meno, della redenzione. Jules de Gaultier 1 nasce a Parigi il 2 giugno 1858 e, dopo la carriera al Ministero delle Finanze che non ne intralcia l'attività speculativa, muore a Boulogne-sur-mer nel 1942. Dal 1894 collabora alla Revue blanche, dal 1895 col Mercure de France per il quale redige un insieme di articoli inseriti nel 1900 in De Kant à Nietzsche, suo primo libro. Le Bovarysme 2 è del 1902. Nel 1913 pubblica Le génie de Flaubert. Scrive La philosophie officielle et la philosophie (1922) e La vie mystique de la nature. Nel 1925 inaugura una collana di filosofia, di cui è responsabile, con La sensibilité métaphysique. Il suo ultimo lavoro è Nietzsche del 1926.

Pour la victime de la violence, et pour toute personne qui la condamne, la première pensée qui s'impose n'est--elle pas de prendre la fuite ou de faire appel à un acte répressif extérieur ? Mettre hors circuit, déplacer ailleurs. Il... more

Pour la victime de la violence, et pour toute personne qui la condamne, la première pensée qui s'impose n'est--elle pas de prendre la fuite ou de faire appel à un acte répressif extérieur ? Mettre hors circuit, déplacer ailleurs. Il s'agit d'une certaine manière de la volonté d'échapper à ce qui a lieu, à ce qui ne devrait pas avoir lieu mais qui advient pourtant. La violence se présente comme l'instant d'une transgression de l'humain, qui consiste à violenter l'autre humain. Cette transgression se prête d'abord à un mouvement de rejet : en sorte que ce qui nie l'humain devient difficile à penser, et d'une certaine manière dangereux : parce que penser l'acte violent consiste à lui donner une place dans la sphère du proprement humain, voire le proprement intime de la conscience. Cependant vivre une expérience de violence a pour conséquence à la fois d'être violenté et d'être encombré par la pensée d'une impossibilité à faire avec la violence qui a pourtant eu lieu. En sorte qu'un acte, restreint à un instant, persiste à travers l'histoire d'une conscience sans qu'il paraisse possible de résoudre le rapport ouvert entre le possible (factuel) et l'impossible (éthique). Aujourd'hui, après avoir déjà réfléchi sur ce rapport du possible et de l'impossible de la violence, je souhaiterais aborder cette question dans l'observation d'un second temps qu'on pourrait appeler une période post--traumatique, en me demandant avec vous ce que signifie la violence pour nous. Je veux dire ce qu'elle signifie véritablement : peut--on lui trouver un sens ? Et cela au risque de lui offrir une place au sein même de ce que l'on protège lorsqu'on espère prendre la fuite -c'est--à--dire notre intimité. Lorsque je parle de violence, il s'agit de porter atteinte à un autre humain. Bien sûr je pense à ma propre expérience de la violence subie, et du gouffre de l'impensable que ce type d'expérience implique durablement. Ceci dit, je crois que cette préoccupation n'est pas marginale, et qu'elle n'appartient pas qu'aux victimes : on ne peux supposer que les transgresseurs se situent, par leur acte, dans une sphère qui ne relève plus de la question. Peut--être même que « rendre justice » pourrait consister à poser la question du sens à l'auteur de violence. Penser que l'agresseur peut se passer de cette question, ou qu'il en est exclu, reviendrait d'une certaine manière à l'exclure de l'humanité, à le situer hors de notre monde. Pourtant la transgression de la violence portée à autrui est courante, et diviser le monde en deux n'apporte aucun réconfort : il m'a semblé en préparant ce texte qu'il paraissait important de retrouver une unité du monde, ou pour le dire autrement, de pouvoir penser la violence à partir de l'humanité, plutôt qu'en l'en excluant. L'exclusion ne signifie rien de plus que la confirmation de l'incompréhension : impossible de dialoguer avec ce qui appartient à un hors--là. Et dans l'impossibilité du dialogue, on ne peut pas espérer reléguer l'événement violent au passé : au contraire, l'impensé revient constamment, ne se laisse ni passer ni dépasser. Ici je ne me réfère pas au refoulé freudien, et je ne tends pas à psychologiser le problème, mais à souligner en quoi ce que l'on appelle « traumatisme » relève bien d'une rupture dans le sens qui entrave l'écoulement du temps -le devenir existentiel --en le tenant rivé. Ce rapport je le tire

Avvertito in anni recenti come tema sospetto "che non gode buona fama in molti ambienti cristiani" 1 e quindi da rimuovere, il sacrificio torna in anni recentissimi ad essere di nuovo categoria apprezzata. Afferma infatti G. LAFONT nella... more

Avvertito in anni recenti come tema sospetto "che non gode buona fama in molti ambienti cristiani" 1 e quindi da rimuovere, il sacrificio torna in anni recentissimi ad essere di nuovo categoria apprezzata. Afferma infatti G. LAFONT nella Prolusione dell'Anno Accademico 1997/98 tenuta il 22 ottobre 1997 all'Istituto di Liturgia Pastorale del Santa Giustina di Padova: «Vorrei lavorare per capire la rimozione del sacrificio, forse anche rituale, e ritrovare dei cammini in grado di dare a sacrificio e rito il loro posto, che rimane comunque centrale non soltanto nella tradizione cristiana ma nella vita umana» 2 .

Popularna opinia, którą znamy z nauk humanistycznych głosi, iż przedmioty naszego pożądania są przez nas wybierane w sposób indywidualny i autonomiczny. Szczególnie pojęcie prawa do realizacji własnych pragnień akcentowane jest w takich... more

Popularna opinia, którą znamy z nauk humanistycznych głosi, iż przedmioty naszego pożądania są przez nas wybierane w sposób indywidualny i autonomiczny. Szczególnie pojęcie prawa do realizacji własnych pragnień akcentowane jest w takich nurtach ideologicznych jak liberalizm, indywidualizm, romantyzm czy kapitalizm. W owym ujęciu chciwość jako najintensywniej przeżywana forma pragnienia posiadania stanowi epifenomen aktów wolnych decyzji, psychicznego usposobienia, indywidualnych czy społeczno-kulturowych potrzeb podmiotu.
René Girard krytycznie odnosi się do wyżej przedstawionych, linearnych (podmiot-przedmiot) koncepcji chciwości. Określając wyraźnie czym jest pragnienie, zarysowuje swego rodzaju „rewolucję kopernikańską” w rozumieniu chciwości. Jego zdaniem, przedmioty ludzkiego pragnienia nie są pożądane ze względu na nasze wolne decyzje czy indywidualne potrzeby, lecz ze względu fakt, iż to kultura i inni ludzie określają co jest warte pożądania a co nie. Wyznacza tym samym trójkątną strukturę pragnienia (podmiot – pośrednik – przedmiot), w której chciwość jest produktem mimetyzmu (naśladownictwa), a nie elementem ludzkiej natury.
Część zasadnicza referatu skupia się na ukazaniu mimetycznej natury chciwości oraz jej powiązaniu z innymi kulturowymi zjawiskami: zazdrości, zawiści, rywalizacji o prestiż, resentymentem, współczesnymi przejawami przemocy, destrukcją podmiotu, sadyzmem i masochizmem. Warto również dokonać próby zrozumienia chciwości jako fenomenu o charakterze dynamicznym, irracjonalnym, interindywidualnym i niezwykle intensywnym, mającym dramatyczne konsekwencje zarówno dla losów jednostki jak i całej kultury, przede wszystkim kultury konsumpcyjnej.

September, a poem by Geo Milev, represents an attempt to symbolically overcome the crisis of the Bulgarian society connected to the September uprising. The poem is constructed on a sacrificial model, through which an actual defeat can be... more

September, a poem by Geo Milev, represents an attempt to symbolically overcome the crisis of the Bulgarian society connected to the September uprising. The poem is constructed on a sacrificial model, through which an actual defeat can be transformed into a symbolical victory. The interpretation is based on the theoretical works of Rene Girard and Peter Sloterdijk, the authors who design their own theories of human desire and violence based on the sacrificial phenomena connected to social crises and revolutions. The poem begins with the culmination of the September crisis and then it reconstructs its history and constructs its imminent eschatological end. Our thesis is that the poem polemically attacks the Christian worldview, especially the idea of transcendence, only to appropriate the main elements of the Christian teleology and transform them into the basis of Milev’s original eschatological projection.

A philosophical introduction to the concept of chastity seen in the phenomenological light of its interaction with the cultural frame of a technological society, with reference to Heidegger, the search for authenticity with reference to... more

A philosophical introduction to the concept of chastity seen in the phenomenological light of its interaction with the cultural frame of a technological society, with reference to Heidegger, the search for authenticity with reference to Taylor, the anthropology of violence with reference to Rene Girard, the realisation of the phenomenological realm of beauty with reference to Gadamer, and the phenomenological analysis of the phenomenon of chastity itself with reference to Wojtyla.

Rene Girard gândește imitația (mimesis) dinspre dorință, ca temei al dorinței. Dorința umană este constitutiv si structural imitativă. Având o dimensiune afectivă, dinamică și achizitivă, dorința mimetică e mai mult decât o simplă copie a... more

Rene Girard gândește imitația (mimesis) dinspre dorință, ca temei al dorinței. Dorința umană este constitutiv si structural imitativă. Având o dimensiune afectivă, dinamică și achizitivă, dorința mimetică e mai mult decât o simplă copie a ceea ce imită (paradigma reprezentațională platoniciană curentă). Ori, tocmai aproprierea, achiziția este aceea care dă imitației caracterul ei conflictual. Omul este creatura care nu știe să dorească spontan pentru că nu știe propriu-zis ce să dorească. De aceea, nu dorește direct, ci mereu indirect prin mijlocirea unui model-obstacol, imitând dorințele și credințele acestuia. Dorința mimetică trădează astfel un deficit ontologic. Dorința de a avea calitățile modelului devine treptat dorința de a fi ca modelul, dorința de a i se substitui ontologic acestuia, ca un dublu al său.
Cuvinte cheie: mimesis achizitiv, triangulația dorinței, medierea internă și externă, model/obstacol, double bind, dorința psihotică.

Según la Teoría Mimética, en las democracias nunca hay consenso sobre quién es el culpable de los grandes problemas. Cada partido señala a sus propias víctimas propiciatorias. En la medida en que los villanos de unos son los héroes de los... more

Según la Teoría Mimética, en las
democracias nunca hay consenso sobre
quién es el culpable de los grandes
problemas. Cada partido señala a sus
propias víctimas propiciatorias. En la
medida en que los villanos de unos son
los héroes de los otros, no es posible
producir una opinión unificada. Aquí,
de lo que se trata es de hacer que una
parte suficiente del electorado pueda
creer en mi narrativa, más que en la de
los demás candidatos.
Dada la conciencia de los mandatarios,
toman la mayoría de sus decisiones con
el calendario en la mano. Saben que no
pueden abusar demasiado de su poder,
que no pueden aplastar mucho a sus
enemigos, que el poder político es
cíclico y que los que están arriba
estarán abajo; saben incluso, que su
triste predecesor puede revivir -i.e. al
volver, sus más cercanos colaboradores,
a ser relevantes.

Cheerleading – an activity with origins in the elite, male-dominated domain of the late 19th century American university campus – is now a highly commodified and mass mediated feminised spectacle which attracts intense vitriol from a... more

Cheerleading – an activity with origins in the elite, male-dominated domain of the late 19th century American university campus – is now a highly commodified and mass mediated feminised spectacle which attracts intense vitriol from a range of ostensibly disparate social groups. These include feminists, social conservatives, cultural elites, sports administrators and fans, mainstream media commentators and members of the general public. Complicating these negative framings is the fact that cheerleaders are simultaneously sexually fetishised in pornography, pop culture and the news media. That a relatively unremarkable feminine athletic endeavour provokes such intense cultural anxiety and sexual obsession makes cheerleading a singularly revealing object of study. Engaging with media, feminist, gender, sporting and cultural studies theory – under what I will unpack as a conceptual framework I nominate as fetish theory – this thesis conducts an extensive analysis of media texts framing cheerleading. It shows that cheerleading animates intense cultural anxieties because it is seen to threaten a broad spectrum of ideologies and ideals, which range across theory, practice and views as diverse as feminism, moral conservatism, sport, and cultural authenticity. As a result, cheerleaders: are the subject of intense desire and loathing; are used as multi-purpose, psycho-social scapegoats; and have come to occupy a provocative liminal space between the sex worker and the athlete (in part because they have been both stripped yet also hyper-invested with meaning via a range of fetishistic logics). This thesis examines the role of feminist discourse (particularly in relation to its convergence with social conservative rhetoric) in censuring young women involved in sexualised performances such as cheerleading. It interrogates the relevance of traditional media studies models such as moral panic; problematises orthodox understandings of the progressive/transgressive politics involved in active audienceship and self-publishing; explicates some of the dangers of celebratory rhetoric framing new media ecosystems; and probes the usefulness of new approaches to explicating power flows in media environments.

« Il n'y a pas de science politique pure », affirme René Girard . Face à ce constat, élaborer une lecture politique de René Girard, dont l'œuvre ne porte pas a-priori sur l'étude du mode d'organisation de la cité, sur la politique comme... more

« Il n'y a pas de science politique pure », affirme René Girard . Face à ce constat, élaborer une lecture politique de René Girard, dont l'œuvre ne porte pas a-priori sur l'étude du mode d'organisation de la cité, sur la politique comme problème, comme domaine et comme réponse, pourrait paraître stérile et promis à l'échec. Or, faire une telle prédiction serait ignorer la portée d'une théorie dont l'objet premier est le religieux, le sacré, et par identité, la violence, comme fondement du social. S'il n'y a pas de science politique pure, cela autorise justement l'ébauche d'une théorie du politique à partir des instruments girardiens en apparence éloignés de cet objet.

En esta obra se sistematizan las principales aportaciones de la teoría mimética al análisis político. Una parte importante de estas ideas proviene de la obra misma de René Girard, pero hay otra parte, igual de importante, que se encuentra... more

En esta obra se sistematizan las principales
aportaciones de la teoría mimética al
análisis político. Una parte importante de
estas ideas proviene de la obra misma de
René Girard, pero hay otra parte, igual de
importante, que se encuentra en los libros
de Wolfgang Palaver, Jean-Pierre Dupuy,
Paul Dumouchel, Roberto Farneti, Harald
Wydra, J. M. Oughourlain, Stephen Gardner
y Scott Garrles, entre otros. Es un libro
breve, pero que requirió de un intenso
trabajo colectivo. Las fuentes son muy
diversas y las teorías muy complejas. Sin
embargo, se ha logrado aquí recolectar,
ordenar y explicar con claridad –¡e incluso
con monitos!– a una serie de autores que
combinan tres complejidades: la del
pensamiento de la teoría girardiana, la de
la filosofía política y la de ellos mismos.

Horkheimer e Adorno pensano innanzitutto a Sade e, meno plausibilmente, a Hobbes e de Maistre (Canetti concorderà su questo punto). 3. Mi permetto di rinviare al mio Studi sull'idea di potenza. Le radici giuridiche e teologiche della... more

Horkheimer e Adorno pensano innanzitutto a Sade e, meno plausibilmente, a Hobbes e de Maistre (Canetti concorderà su questo punto). 3. Mi permetto di rinviare al mio Studi sull'idea di potenza. Le radici giuridiche e teologiche della tradizione culturale dell'Occidente, ora in e. castrucci, Convenzione, forma, potenza. Scritti di storia delle idee e di filosofia giuridicopolitica, Giuffrè, Milano 2003, vol. ii, pp. 929 e passim, circa le valenze in campo teorico-politico dell'antropologia filosofica spinoziano-nietzscheana. Già nel suo importante scritto di storia delle idee del 1963 Roman Schnur avvertiva circa l'opportunità di raccogliere materiali «per la fondazione di un'antropologia politica i cui requisiti corrispondano a quelli che Arnold Gehlen ritiene essenziali ai fini di un'antropologia generale»

This paper will address René Girard's critique of the "humanization of nothingness" in modern Western philosophy. I will first explain how the "de-sire for death" is related to a phenomenon that Girard refers to as "obstacle addiction ."... more

This paper will address René Girard's critique of the "humanization of nothingness" in modern Western philosophy. I will first explain how the "de-sire for death" is related to a phenomenon that Girard refers to as "obstacle addiction ." Second, I will point out how mankind's desire for death and illusory will to self-divinization gradually tend to converge within the history of modern Western humanism. In particular, I will show how this convergence between self-destruction and self-divinization gradually takes shape through the evolution of the concept of "the negative" from Hegel to Kojève, Sartre and Camus. Finally, we shall come to see that in Girard's view "the negative" has tended to become an ever-preoccupying and unacknowledged symptom of mankind's addiction to "model/obstacles" of desire.

Taking as its point of departure the existing critical literature on the intersections between René Girard’s and Giorgio Agamben’s anthropogenetic theories, this essay aims to add further considerations to the debate by discussing some of... more

Taking as its point of departure the existing critical literature on the intersections between René Girard’s and Giorgio Agamben’s anthropogenetic theories, this essay aims to add further considerations to the debate by discussing some of Agamben’s intuitions within a Girardian paradigmatic explanatory framework. I show how by regressing the archeological analysis to a pre-institutional and pre-legal moment, and by re-examining the antinomic structure of the sacred in its genetic organizing form (so briskly dismissed by Agamben in Homo Sacer), one can account more cogently for certain key issues relevant to Agamben’s theoretical project, such as the “paradox of sovereignty,” the nature of the “state of exception,” and the dissociation between culpa and individual responsibility in archaic law, as recently discussed in Karman. I also put forward arguments concerning the limitations of Agamben’s immanent ontology to account for the zoe/bios distinction as a key structural element of his particular take on biopolitics, viewing this specifically in the light of Girard’s anti-sacrificial interpretation of the Judeo-Christian Scriptures.

René Girard in his model of the “triangular desire” (mimetic desire) describes various formations of the triangle comprising of a subject, an object and a mediator. He stresses that in this triple relationship where the spatial metaphor... more

René Girard in his model of the “triangular desire” (mimetic desire) describes various formations of the triangle comprising of a subject, an object and a mediator. He stresses that in this triple relationship where the spatial metaphor is a triangle, the triangle is permanent although the object may change in each adventure. He, however, by expressing that the novelistic genius, the term he coined for the works that reveal the triangular structure can only be shaped by Christian symbolism, states that Christianity is universal. His statement apparently disregards the novelistic experience shaped by other beliefs and cultures. In this respect, by reducing his theory to a single religion he undermines its universality, which should otherwise be the common denominator of civilizations, i.e. universal. Hence the following questions: Is there any work of literature in Turkish which exemplifies the novelistic genius? Can novelistic experience be shaped by Islamic symbolism? Is it possible to find a common discourse in all religions that shapes novelistic experience? If such a discourse exists how should one interpret it? Without answers, the likelihood of agreeing with or criticizing Girard’s statement is improbable. An array of assumptions from the universality of his theory to the characteristics of the novelistic genius shaped by various cultures and civilizations would be scientifically proven, only when one dares to seek answers to those questions. This article analyzes Emine Işınsu’s biographic novel based on the Turkish mystic Yunus Emre, Bir Ben Vardır Bende Benden İçeri (There is a Self in Myself Deeper than Myself, 2002) within the framework of the triangular desire model. It is possible to find the novelistic genius in almost every Turkish novel based on a disciple-guide relationship. Among such works, however, the ones written on Yunus Emre occupy a special place. The information regarding Yunus Emre’s actual life is scarce, if any; a fact which renders his poems and the hagiography adorned with Islamic symbolism the major sources on the subject. Both sources reveal a remarkable similarity, an affinity between Yunus Emre and the modern man Girard portrays while developing his theory. Contrary to the convention, Yunus’s personality reflects the crisis and the dilemmas of the modern man. The paper examines the novel’s usage of the Sufi hagiography and terminology to scrutinize Bir Ben Vardır Bende Benden İçeri as an example of the novelistic genius shaped by Islamic symbolism. It identifies the symbols in the hagiography that nourish the novel and examines them. It demonstrates that Işınsu employs Islamic philosophy and the symbolic language as instruments enabling her to interpret the convention instead of merely rewriting it. It also underlines the author’s capacity to arrange and conceive the hagiographic narratives. In tandem with it, it argues that a biographical novel which is based on a mystic should display a competence in putting the hagiographic narratives in order and deciphering them as well as carrying an updating attitude instead of a reproducing one, if it is to be considered a novel. In sum, this study reveals the mimetic structure of desire in Bir Ben Vardır Bende Benden İçeri. By doing so, it shows that, despite Girard’s statement, the novelistic genius can also be shaped by Islamic symbolism. Therefore, it proves that the triangular desire model, which is supposed to be universal, is not confined to merely Christianity but is structured according to the particular belief and culture to which the novel belongs.
René Girard, “üçgen arzu” (mimetik arzu) modeliyle edebiyat eleştirisine yeni bir yaklaşım kazandırmıştır. Arzunun öykünmeci yapısını ortaya koymak amacıyla özne, nesne ve dolayımlayıcıdan oluşan bir üçgen oluşturmuştur. Uzamsal eğretilemenin bir üçgen olduğu bu üçlü ilişkide nesnenin her serüvenle birlikte değişmesine karşın, üçgenin kalıcı olduğunu vurgulamıştır. Ne var ki, üçgen yapıyı açığa çıkaran yapıtlar için kullandığı “romansal deha”yı yalnızca Hristiyan simgeciliğinin biçimlendirebileceğini ifade ederek Hristiyanlık dininin evrensel olduğunu belirtmiştir. Girard’ın bu savında diğer inanç ve kültürlerin biçimlendirdiği romansal deneyimi yok saydığı görülmektedir. Buradan hareketle, tüm medeniyetlerin ortak paydası sayılması gereken, dolayısıyla evrensel kabul edilebilecek bir kuramı tek bir dine indirgeyerek onun evrenselliğini kırdığı söylenebilir. Bu noktada şu sorular akla gelmektedir: Türk edebiyatında romansal dehayı örnekleyen yapıt var mıdır? Romansal deneyimi İslam sembolizmi de biçimlendirebilir mi? Romansal deneyimi biçimlendiren tüm dinlerde ortak bir söylem bulmak mümkün müdür? Böyle bir söylem varsa nasıl yorumlanmalıdır? Bu sorular yanıtlanmadan Girard’ın savını destekleme ya da eleştirme imkânı olmayacaktır. Kuramın evrenselliğinden çeşitli kültür ve medeniyetlerin oluşturduğu romansal dehanın niteliğine dek pek çok sav, bu soruların yanıtlanmasıyla bilimsel nitelik kazanacaktır. Bu makalede, Emine Işınsu’nun Yunus Emre’yi konu alan Bir Ben Vardır Bende Benden İçeri (2002) başlıklı biyografik romanı üçgen arzu modeli çerçevesinde çözümlenmiştir. Türk edebiyatında mürit-mürşit ilişkisini konu alan hemen her romanda romansal dehanın varlığından söz etmek mümkündür ancak bu tür metinler içinde Yunus Emre üzerine yazılanların özel bir konumu vardır. Yunus Emre’nin gerçek yaşamöyküsüne dair kesin bilgilere ulaşılamamaktadır. Dolayısıyla onu konu alan romanlarda Yunus’un şiirleri ve İslam sembolizmiyle örülen menkıbeler birincil kaynak hâline gelmektedir. Bu iki temel kaynak, Yunus Emre’yle Girard’ın kuramını oluştururken vurguladığı modern insan arasında oldukça dikkat çekici bir benzerlik, yakınlık olduğunu göstermektedir. Geleneğin aksine, Yunus’un modern insanın bunalım ve ikilemlerini yansıtan bir kişilik taşıdığı görülmektedir. Makalede, İslam sembolizminin biçimlendirdiği romansal dehayı örneklemesi bakımından derinlemesine irdelenen Bir Ben Vardır Bende Benden İçeri’de menkıbeler ve barındırdıkları tasavvuf terminolojisi üzerinde durulmuştur. Romanın beslendiği menkıbelerdeki semboller saptanmış ve çözümlenmiştir. Bu yolla, Işınsu’nun İslam felsefesini ve sembolik dili bir araç olarak kullandığı, geleneği olduğu gibi aktarmak yerine yorumlayarak kaleme aldığı gösterilmiştir. Ayrıca yazarın menkıbeleri sıralama ve yorumlamadaki yetkinliği üzerinde durulmuştur. Buna koşut olarak mutasavvıfları konu alan biyografik romanların, eğer roman olarak adlandırılacaksa, menkıbelerin dizimi ve yorumu konusunda yetkin olmakla birlikte bunların yeniden yazımı olmaktan çıkıp güncelleme özelliğini taşıması gerektiği ortaya koyulmuştur. Sonuç olarak Bir Ben Vardır Bende Benden İçeri adlı romanda arzunun öykünmeci yapısı gösterilmiştir. Yapılan çözümleme doğrultusunda, Girard’ın savına karşın, İslam sembolizminin biçimlendirdiği romansal deha örneklenmiştir. Böylece, evrensel olması gereken üçgen arzu modelinin yalnız Hristiyanlık tarafından biçimlendirilmediği, romanın ait olduğu özgül inanç ve kültür doğrultusunda yapılandığı gözlemlenmiştir.

There is a connection between René Girard's Mimetic Desire and Gregory Bateson's Schismogenesis.

Tóth, P.: Ember, erőszak, vallás - René Girard mimetikus elmélete. In: Szilárdi, R., & Szugyiczki, Zs. (2017): Metszet és perspektíva: tanulmányok az alkalmazott valláskutatás területéről. Szeged, JATEPress K., pp. 247-266. In this... more

Patrick Bateman, the notorious dystagonist of Bret Easton Ellis' American Psycho, is an obtrusively sexist, racist, classist serial killer. Importantly, Bateman, who perceives most of those around him as excremental “dirt,” sets out on a... more

Patrick Bateman, the notorious dystagonist of Bret Easton Ellis' American Psycho, is an obtrusively sexist, racist, classist serial killer. Importantly, Bateman, who perceives most of those around him as excremental “dirt,” sets out on a mission to violently expel the human “trash” from his personal erotic utopia, a sterile, hypermediatized bubble of privilege. As Donna Lee Brien and Julien Murphet have observed, many early critics of the novel (and Mary Harron’s brilliant film adaptation) overlooked the profound allegorical quality of the text: Bateman personifies the often invisible systemic violence that subtends the erection of supposedly smooth-functioning, well-regulated urban utopias. Far from transpiring “no place” (u-topos), American Psycho narrows its gaze on the rapid gentrification of urban spaces such as Manhattan and, more broadly, the corporate homogenization of turn-of-the-millennium America. In this vein, it should come as no surprise that Bateman's mimetic mentors, his aspirational role-models, are Donald Trump and Ronald Reagan.

This article discusses the history of the Yazidis and their struggle for survival, following numerous genocides and migrations in the Middle East. It also sheds light on the challenging nature of the conflict between Muslims and Yazidis... more

This article discusses the history of the Yazidis and their struggle for survival, following numerous genocides and migrations in the Middle East. It also sheds light on the challenging nature of the conflict between Muslims and Yazidis that theologians, historians, social and political scientists of the world are facing at present. While using the theoretical underpinnings of René Girard’s Mimetic Theory, the article explores the way these groups have engaged with each other over the past several years. It aims to focus on their history, the reasons and motives behind the conflict and how important it is for the peace process in the region and beyond.

Atonement theory has long been a point of contention in the study of the sacraments and the liturgy. Many scholars wish to reject Anselmian atonement on the grounds that it portrays God as vengeful. In this paper, I will use the work of... more

Atonement theory has long been a point of contention in the study of the sacraments and the liturgy. Many scholars wish to reject Anselmian atonement on the grounds that it portrays God as vengeful. In this paper, I will use the work of Rene Girard to re-situate Anselm's theory within an anthropological framework, without rejecting humanity's need for atonement and expiation. I will apply Romano Guardini's liturgical aesthetic to this reconfigured atonement and use it to analyze the Eucharistic Prayers of Reconciliation. In this way, I will show that atonement is a core truth of the liturgy, even as it serves a supplemental position to the understanding of Eucharist as meal.

ABSTRACT: This paper investigates the relationship between Christian discipleship and education through the lens of Girard’s “mimetic desire,” and how 1 Pet 5:1–5 (especially the hapax συμπρεσβύτερος/sympresbyteros) can be informed by... more

ABSTRACT:
This paper investigates the relationship between Christian discipleship and education through the lens of Girard’s “mimetic desire,” and how 1 Pet 5:1–5 (especially the hapax συμπρεσβύτερος/sympresbyteros) can be informed by this pedagogical concept. Going beyond mere mimēsis and the imitation of surface-level actions, “mimetic desire” penetrates deeper in understanding how modeled behaviors and desires—whether positive or negative—affect the desires and motivations of others. This is important for ministry as pastors/Christian educators should faithfully model the gospel externally and internally so their congregants/students may learn to live as good citizens worthy of the gospel of Christ (Phil 1:27).

In Bakhtin's opinion, "the relation to meaning is always dialogic. Even understanding itself is dialogic." Particularly, the art of acting is such a dialogic relationship that fuses character and interpreter (performer) in the same unity... more

In Bakhtin's opinion, "the relation to meaning is always dialogic. Even understanding itself is dialogic." Particularly, the art of acting is such a dialogic relationship that fuses character and interpreter (performer) in the same unity of the presence before the audience. In other words, acting is a "dialectic" relationship, a dialogue on a higher level (a dialogue of personalities), as Bakhtin said. Dialogic acting manifests itself between two extreme aspects (identification and "distanciation") and as a merging of them. Putting the concrete manifestation of acting and staging into a formal model, we can affirm that the function of (theatrical) representation has a multitude of fuzzy values, situated between a theoretically absolute embodiment and a theoretically complete "distanciation." For instance, the former tends to be manifested in the "mimetic" rites (Durkheim) and in Stanislavski’s poetics. The latter is known as Brecht Verfremdungseffekt, or "alienantion effect," also to be found in traditional drama of the Extreme Orient, which inspired Brecht. (Today in the United States, Stanislavsks’s theories are a very important source of study for many actors. In contrast to Stanislavski, Brecht theorizes Verfremdungseffekt, endowing it with ideological connotations.) In mimetic rites, it is compulsory for the interpreter to identify itself with the archetypal character; this is a primary condition for the social, magical or religious efficiency of the ritualistic act(ing). More than (theatrical) performance, ritualistic act(ing) is a performative (re)presentation, i.e., the very archetypal event, in its immediate unfolding: drômenon as "lived transcendence" (Gusdorf), and Gadamerian metamorphosis. Alternatively, for both identification and distanciation as manners of acting, the concept of dialogism (Bakhtin) highlights one and the same discursive mechanism. The advantage is that the analysis of such a heterogeneous corpu—from modern theatre poetics to the ancient ritualistic performance—may operate in a relatively homogeneous way, with the same descriptive categories, borrowed from dialogic theory, and from theory of speech and fictional acts. Situated on the same axis of interpretation/ (re)presentation, "identification" and "distanciation" are fuzzy categories, with differences between them difficult to establish. This evokes Diderot's famous paradox, as reformulated by Lee Strasberg: "to move the audience, the actor must himself remain un moved.”
Keywords: (Theatrical) Performance, Identification, Distanciation, Artaud, Brecht, Gadamer, Stanislavski

Often successful and powerful women, such as prominent female politicians − are increasingly the target of verbal violence and insults, which are amplified in an echoic way by social media. On the basis of two case studies of verbal... more

Often successful and powerful women, such as prominent female politicians − are increasingly the target of verbal violence and insults, which are amplified in an echoic way by social media. On the basis of two case studies of verbal violence against Italian female politicians in 2014 (the first case Grillo-Boldrini being a sexual offense against an attractive female politician, the second case Calderoli-Kyenge featuring an animalising offence against a black female politician) I will try to show that there is a close and direct relationship between verbal violence against women and group dynamics. The shared mechanism of offense makes the woman a victim of a staged "sacrifice" according Girard´s mimetic theory, a scapegoat through whose sacrifice the community finds a sense of unity. In the above-mentioned imagined collective rape and in the staged rite of animalisation, the male community tries to enhance an otherwise weak feeling of self-esteem and belonging. Schlüsselwörter: Sexismus, verbale Aggression, mimetische Gewalt, Vulnerabilität, Männlichkeit

In this study, we try to identify some concepts from J.-P. Sartre's book "Being and Nothingness" (1943) which we believe has decisively influenced the inception of Rene Girard's mimetic theory in his first book. We think we could qualify... more

In this study, we try to identify some concepts from J.-P. Sartre's book "Being and Nothingness" (1943) which we believe has decisively influenced the inception of Rene Girard's mimetic theory in his first book. We think we could qualify "Deceit, Desire, and the Novel" (1961) as being a literary theory corollary of Sartre's ontological treatise, a literary double. The starting point of the Girardian mimetic desire is the Sartrean definition of desire as an ontological lack, a lack constitutive for the human being itself, hence his religious longings and totalizing attempts. Girard tried to weaken this strong ontology through a sui generis non-Levinasian alterity, founding a kind of social theory, a social mimetology "à la française". The modern individualism diverts the vertical transcendence to the Other, hence the quasi-mystical intensity, the passions and the troubles involved in the "modern feelings".
Keywords: desire as ontological lack, bad faith, desire to be God, mimetic desire, diverted transcendence, authenticity, romanesque conversion