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The Girard Reader

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This is a remarkably complete introduction to Rene Girard's ideas. His key theory has the clarity and simplicity of a mathematical proof--desire is not an innate drive but a behavior we learn through imitation (mimesis). When we mimic our model's desire for the same object, violence breaks out. Through ritual scapegoating, human communities manage to divert this violence by directing it at a random victim (thus hiding its real source in mimetic rivalry). According to Girard, this mechanism is at work across all times and cultures, and shapes the plot of nearly every major novel. For those with a suspicion of grand unifying theories, his idea raises many questions. Even more controversial is his belief that Christianity brings an end to myth by exposing the scapegoat's innocence. Christ doesn't die as a sacrifice to God for human sin; instead, the crucifixion reveals the fiction at the root of all sacrifice--the victim's culpability. This helps to humanize one of Christianity's more troubling doctrines, but it also asks us to believe that the authors of the New Testament understood the workings of mimetic desire 2000 years before Girard articulated the theory. Read the book and come to your own conclusions. Whatever you decide, after reading Girard you'll look at myth and religion with new eyes.

One of the most interesting aspects of this good general introduction to the brilliant work of Rene Girard is the interview with editor James G. Williams, which touches on Girard's biography and his conversion to Catholicism. The other texts included here span the entirety of his long career as literary critic, groundbreaking anthropologist, and Biblical exegete. The texts address all facets of mimetic theory, from triangular desire to scapegoating, sacrifice, Satan, and the paradoxical place of Nietzsche in the history of mimetic anthropology.

Girard's insight into the origin and interrelation of violence, religion, competition, etc., are, as advertised, one of the primary intellectual achievements of the 20th century. This volume contains key excerpts from his published works, so it's a fine general introduction. Even those who may disagree with some of Girard's conclusions will find it exhilarating to read and ponder.

In the academic landscape of victimization theories, deconstruction and post-modernism, here arises a singular voice that cuts to an all encompassing generative theory of civilization. It is a theory that explains why we buy Nike, why we go to war, and how we achieve peace. It would be better known in academia except this poor soul has the unfortunate timing of discovering a theory that objectively validates the truth of Catholicism, when Christianity (and even worse Catholicism) is out of vogue.

His theories have been described as "among the most profound intellectual discoveries of our time" and "a comprehensive vision of the psychological, sociological, political, and religious processes of sin and redemption"

If you are a thinker interested in social critique and a theory that has the power to restore Western Civilization - buy this book.

Reading Girard's theory on mimetic contagion and scapegoating and its application to the Old and New Testament is a revelation. Girard sees the revelation of God in the Old and New Testament as not just another myth but rather the process by which God unfolds what has been going on in Human Culture since time began. For Girard, all human cultures are founded on a scapegoat who has been ritually murdered. Myth tells the foundational murder from the perspective of the vitimisers. Girard discovered that, by contrast, the Judeo-Christian scriptures do the opposite: they side with the victim. The selections of writings in the Reader (extracts from various books and interviews) explain the evolution of his thought. Note that some of the earlier chapters on the evidence for triangular desire and mimesis in literature are hard going, particularly if you are not faimiliar with the authors being analysed. But, it is worth perservering. And, if the book grabs your attention, there is now a whole industry of Giradian writings to feast on.

For me this is a key reference book as I don't have the time or energy to read all the writings of this great philosopher. His theories on the development of culture, especially, religion, are remarkable. The Girard Reader clearly shows his memetic theory, how he developed it, and its importance. For Christians he shows the meaning and impact of Jesus.

While René Girard is a great thinker, this anthology pushes Girard in a decidedly "Christian" direction due to the bias and taste of the editor, James Williams. The essays and extracts from Girard's books here suffer from selection bias. Two much more interesting and representative collections of essays by Girard are his "To Double-Business Bound" and the more recent and really great "Mimesis and Theory" -- which came out not long ago from Stanford University Press. Both are better introductions to his work. Girard is a Catholic writer/philosopher, and his Christianity should not be discounted; his profound reading of religious and cultural history cannot and should not be separated from his faith. That said, he tends to be used like a lifeline by second-rate academics and theologians who tend to memorize every word he ever wrote and repeat them ad nauseum at conferences and on blogs because it makes them feel less out of it culturally. Think of the John Lithgow character in "Dirty Dancing." Now imagine if he thought he'd be more persuasive if he knew SOMETHING about modern life...so he watches Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean" video 50 times and learns to bust a move or two. He's still a crappy dancer, but he feels like he's inoculated against accusations of being a square forevermore. That's how Girard is used by his conservative Christian "fans" (like Williams), who are so thrilled to have one first-rate philosopher they can claim as one of their own. The problem is, it does a disservice to Girard to co-opt him in this way. And this anthology is an example of that. Yes it has great stuff in it -- right out of RG's books. But it's not a general "Reader" so much as a "survey" biased at every step to emphasize the Christological aspect of Girard's work, which will turn off the non-Christians or the uncommitted. A shame since Girard's insights and incredibly brilliant readings of a staggering variety of texts and cultural events should appeal to a wide readership. Read MIMESIS AND THEORY instead. Mimesis and Theory: Essays on Literature and Criticism, 1953-2005 (Cultural Memory in the Present)

I don't think there is any doubt that Rene Girard is the most profoud thinker in the past 2500 years. I go back that far to include his transcendence of both Plato and Aristotle. Translate his insight into the human condition into the waning years of the 20th century--the most murderous century in human history--and we may yet survive the 21st century with some measure of humanity. Thank God we have a thinker who empathizes the human condition and has the ability to articulate it. Right now, he is as close to the "second coming"`as we have.As one of Shakespeare's characters put it: "I thank God for you, sir!"

beginning with his important work in uncovering the meanings of sacrifice and scapegoats in western culture, and working through the real dirty undersides of mimesis and competition, Girard takes his rightful place beside Georges Bataille and Marlon Brando (in Apocalypse Now) in his critique of western morality