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The Scapegoat Paperback – August 1, 1989
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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.
- Print length232 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherJohns Hopkins University Press
- Publication dateAugust 1, 1989
- Dimensions6 x 0.75 x 9.25 inches
- ISBN-109780801839177
- ISBN-13978-0801839177
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- 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
- Best Sellers Rank: #411,526 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #177 in Christian Theological Anthropology
- #1,303 in Literary Criticism & Theory
- #4,441 in Sociology (Books)
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Lois Petty
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.
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The book is the item I purchased. No damage.
Best wish.









