Buy new:
$24.22
List Price: $30.00

The List Price is the suggested retail price of a new product as provided by a manufacturer, supplier, or seller. Except for books, Amazon will display a List Price if the product was purchased by customers on Amazon or offered by other retailers at or above the List Price in at least the past 90 days. List prices may not necessarily reflect the product's prevailing market price.
Learn more
Save: $5.78 (19%)
Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime FREE Returns
FREE delivery Monday, April 22 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35
Or fastest delivery Thursday, April 18. Order within 14 hrs 58 mins
Only 13 left in stock - order soon.
$$24.22 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details
Price
Subtotal
$$24.22
Subtotal
Initial payment breakdown
Shipping cost, delivery date, and order total (including tax) shown at checkout.
Ships from
Amazon
Ships from
Amazon
Sold by
Sold by
Returns
Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt
Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt
This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt.
Returns
Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt
This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt.
Payment
Secure transaction
Your transaction is secure
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
Payment
Secure transaction
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
Other Sellers on Amazon
Added
$24.21
& FREE Shipping
Sold by: Follow Books
Sold by: Follow Books
(29601 ratings)
92% positive over last 12 months
Only 1 left in stock - order soon.
Shipping rates and Return policy
Added
$25.33
FREE Shipping
Get free shipping
Free shipping within the U.S. when you order $35.00 of eligible items shipped by Amazon.
Or get faster shipping on this item starting at $7.35 . (Prices may vary for AK and HI.)
Learn more about free shipping
on orders over $35.00 shipped by Amazon.
Sold by: ayvax
Sold by: ayvax
(29244 ratings)
99% positive over last 12 months
Shipping rates and Return policy
Added
$30.00
FREE Shipping
Get free shipping
Free shipping within the U.S. when you order $35.00 of eligible items shipped by Amazon.
Or get faster shipping on this item starting at $7.35 . (Prices may vary for AK and HI.)
Learn more about free shipping
on orders over $35.00 shipped by Amazon.
Sold by: Amazon.com
Sold by: Amazon.com
In Stock
Shipping rates and Return policy
Loading your book clubs
There was a problem loading your book clubs. Please try again.
Not in a club? Learn more
Amazon book clubs early access

Join or create book clubs

Choose books together

Track your books
Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free.
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the author

Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

The Scapegoat Paperback – August 1, 1989

4.5 out of 5 stars 152

{"desktop_buybox_group_1":[{"displayPrice":"$24.22","priceAmount":24.22,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"24","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"22","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"oz3pl%2FYolsyGRtDfJe3YHzJpPHpdkV74U08XKdr43McUBVgC2Yc3QP4GC5sBbQ9Vmgf%2FYwM3DgvaIjuHEJSVrZQK9ehOn050E8bAzd%2FqYWi%2BxCrNL5RHdK5shEjpfPTsvstRvpy%2BOCwvm3CxfOR72vNnL9KyqA2mC415HlUFjnLP3xpd1e%2FLBiTrYoCg5Nc6","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"NEW","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":0}]}

Purchase options and add-ons

Widely regarded as one of the most profound critics of our time, René Girard has pursued a powerful line of inquiry across the fields of the humanities and the social sciences. His theories, which the French press has termed "l'hypothèse girardienne," have sparked interdisciplinary, even international, controversy. In The Scapegoat, Girard applies his approach to "texts of persecution," documents that recount phenomena of collective violence from the standpoint of the persecutor―documents such as the medieval poet Guillaume de Machaut's Judgement of the King of Navarre, which blames the Jews for the Black Death and describes their mass murder.

Girard compares persecution texts with myths, most notably with the myth of Oedipus, and finds strikingly similar themes and structures. Could myths regularly conceal texts of persecution? Girard's answers lies in a study of the Christian Passion, which represents the same central event, the same collective violence, found in all mythology, but which is read from the point of view of the innocent victim. The Passion text provides the model interpretation that has enabled Western culture to demystify its own violence―a demystification Girard now extends to mythology.

Underlying Girard's daring textual hypothesis is a powerful theory of history and culture. Christ's rejection of all guilt breaks the mythic cycle of violence and the sacred. The scapegoat becomes the Lamb of God; "the foolish genesis of blood-stained idols and the false gods of superstition, politics, and ideologies" are revealed.


The Amazon Book Review
The Amazon Book Review
Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Read it now

Frequently bought together

$24.22
Get it as soon as Monday, Apr 22
Only 13 left in stock - order soon.
Sold by Ibook USA and ships from Amazon Fulfillment.
+
$28.49
Get it as soon as Monday, Apr 22
In Stock
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
+
$21.72
Get it as soon as Monday, Apr 22
In Stock
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
Total price:
To see our price, add these items to your cart.
Details
Added to Cart
Some of these items ship sooner than the others.
Choose items to buy together.

Editorial Reviews

Review

[Girard's] methods of extrapolating to find cultural history behind myths, and of reading hidden verification through silence, are worthy enrichments of the critic's arsenal.
―John Yoder,
Religion and Literature

From the Back Cover

In 'The Scapegoat', the author audaciously turns to classical mythology, medieval narrative, and the New Testament to explore the scenes behind 'texts of persecution, ' documents that recount collective violence from the standpoint of the persecutor.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ 0801839173
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Johns Hopkins University Press (August 1, 1989)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 232 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9780801839177
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0801839177
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 11.7 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.75 x 9.25 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 out of 5 stars 152

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
René Girard
Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
152 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Reviewed in the United States on July 19, 2018
This book is phenominal. I could not put it down. As someone who has read the Bible over each year for the past 25 years, I thought I knew it well. Author 'Rene Girard dug deep into especially the Gospels and explained why they are unique. I had to go over and over each sentence to get what he meant, but it was worth the effort. By the end of the book I had a new appreciation for the Christian faith and the way the Gospels have influenced Western civilation even without prople realizing it. I liked best the way he brought new meaning to old familiar truths. I liked least having to keep a dictionary ready at hand to look up words I wasn't familiar with. I wish he had included a Definitions chapter. This is a book I will return to over again for many years to come.
Lois Petty
13 people found this helpful
Report
Reviewed in the United States on May 29, 2012
In the Scapegoat, Girard further expounds on his thesis developed in Violence and the Sacred that religion, culture, and violence are inextricably linked. In the Scapegoat Girard demonstrates how underlying all myths are stories of persecution and collective violence. We were not able to unlock these texts until recently because we have successfully learned to interpret historic persecution texts, deciphering truth from lie. When the same structural analysis is used to looks at myths, as is used to interpret historic persecutions texts, we come across a startling revelation. Taken further, Girard shows how collective persecution and what he called the mimetic theory of desire are related to Christianity and the ground shattering event - Jesus' death and resurrection. This is a must read for historians, anthropologist, theologians, and any lay person who wants to better understand Christianity's importance to the world.
13 people found this helpful
Report
Reviewed in the United States on July 25, 2013
This is an interesting work and the first Girard book I've read. I am more familiar with Kenneth Burke's scapegoating mechanism.
All the reviews thus far have been spot on but fail to mention the extremism Girard will go to prove his theory of scapegoating, as an answer to every, and I mean every, human interaction. Girard believes that all myths once taken to their original states show the murderous nature of man. This nature is because of mimesis. One person has an object and the other person wants to object; therefore, imitation is displayed which leads to rivalry and this leads to rallying a group against one individual hence making that person a scapegoat. I'm fine with this model but Girard states in "The Scapegoat" that his premise is obvious in all myths especially works where there is no mimesis or scapegoat explicitly present. The fact that these two things are missing proves that they are present. Sorry, I can't buy that. His premise when applied to all interactions leads to a complete lack of cooperation, and yet, we know that many people do cooperate and I would even suggest that during the most horrendous times, random acts violence and natural disasters, people cooperate even more than normal, but during natural disasters when one person has more than the other, these would be the model times for scapegoating. I don't see that happening. Girard does in my opinion hit the nail on the head with mob mentality and how one intention and lack of critical thinking can cause scapegoating.
Girard's theory of what the New Testament says is very interesting; Christ died to change myths. Christ shows that scapegoating is wrong and those that get into heaven are the Advocates for those who would be scapegoated. This is very interesting and his interpretation is worth the read; however, I resent his saying that the Gospel writers weren't smart enough to understand what they were writing. I resent people implying that the people who came before us were stupid. Sorry just my opinion but I think our ancestors were smarter than we give them credit for. I view it as a ploy to make ourselves feel smarter than we are.
Girard also just glances over the untold violence Christianity has caused in the world which isn't equitable.
I am very familiar with mythology and Latin American studies. Girard is wrong about the Aztec God, Nanauatzin. Nanauatzin volunteered, self-sacrifice. His hesitation was because he was and had been ignored because he was disabled. Making disabled people unsure of themselves and their place in the world is not new. Proof of Nanauatzin's greater Godhood is that the disabled were revered in Aztec societies because the disabled were God-like. Nanauatzin also becomes the sun which is The most important element in the sky and world.
I also don't believe he explains some things well enough. I'm wondering if his theory would collapse with too much discussion on some points. I also don't like his constant bashing of other points of view. Really? this isn't professional.
I would also suggest Kenneth Burke's scapegoating mechanism.
Overall this is a very interesting read and well worth the time. I wouldn't apply this to a "messy Muslim world" or "persecuted Jewish world". The conflicts of the world are much more complicated than that and it belittles the inhabitants who are occupied or who bomb others. But it does make simplistic scapegoats perhaps proving Girard's point that mob mentality doesn't think.
11 people found this helpful
Report
Reviewed in the United States on October 5, 2020
Excellent book. Really excellent book. I cannot get over how great it was. Really great. Really. A superior specimen. Indeed.
3 people found this helpful
Report
Reviewed in the United States on May 24, 2014
This is a powerful book that gets at the core of violence in our society. There are many whacking at the branches of evil, but few chopping at the root. This book, The Scapegoat, penetrates the depths of systemic violence as it has existed for generations. Girard's mixture of philosophical and anthropological inquiry is brilliant! -Amos Smith (author of Healing The Divide: Recovering Christianity's Mystic Roots)
6 people found this helpful
Report
Reviewed in the United States on December 31, 2019
Wonderful book. Please read and think deeply about what it conveys. It is worth your time and attention and will leave you more wise.
2 people found this helpful
Report
Reviewed in the United States on October 31, 2014
Great concept not will written
One person found this helpful
Report
Reviewed in the United States on November 5, 2018
Though brief, this dense treatise is a tour de force in exploring the foundation of the world as we know it.

Top reviews from other countries

Mindhack
5.0 out of 5 stars The viral infection of imitative violence and it’s cure
Reviewed in Canada on January 13, 2023
Let’s be honest as Heraclitus said, ‘War is father of all, and king of all. He renders some gods, others men; he makes some slaves, others free.’ One doesn’t have to peruse the history books too in-depth to see that our race is infected with violence and the spilling of blood to an almost insatiable degree. War and human sacrifice go deep into the mists of antiquity. Within the contingent substructure of society chaos threatens at every moment to disrupt the fragile harmony . Long have we projected hardships and disorder with the ‘guilty ‘ outsider whether they be racial, physical or malformation or simply one that doesn’t conform to societal norms and used them as a scapegoat for our collective unease . Even when criminal this person is often used as a buffer and expiation for the sins of the crowd as a means of comparison and self justification. As in the story of the women committing adultery in the Gospel of John where the Christ turns their accusations back towards them . The beauty of Rene Girard’s book the Scapegoat is in his concept of ancestorial and tribal violence perpetuated from parents to children down the centuries in an imitative concept called memesis . He looks at the Gospel stories as putting an end to this cycle with the story of the innocent victim of Jesus who puts an end to this by forgiving his enemies and imploring his followers to do the same . Stripping away the false excuses we make for the perpetuation of violence Jesus shows us the way to the Kingdom of Heaven spread out among us in the form of many seeds. Waiting to be nourished in love and truth . Great book .
One person found this helpful
Report
Client d'Amazon
5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect, anything to say.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 10, 2023
Hello,

The book is the item I purchased. No damage.

Best wish.
Quadratic
4.0 out of 5 stars Very interesting way of viewing the gospel.
Reviewed in Canada on April 8, 2019
I'm not a good enough theologian to assess whether there's heresy in this book (as limiting the gospel to an anthropological lesson would seem to be in that territory), but if nothing else it is a very interesting interpretation of the Bible, and the mechanism it investigates (the scapegoat mechanism) is an understanding that may be helpful to us even now, in understanding "mob rule" and what leads to the bad forms of collectivist thought.
One person found this helpful
Report
Ben Wilkinson
2.0 out of 5 stars Two Stars
Reviewed in Canada on November 10, 2016
Less interesting than expected