René Girard and the Theory of Mimetic Rivalry
Vol.1,No.2(2010)
René Girard proposed a theory of mimetic rivalry to explain the origin and internal consistency of human culture by the ritual breaking of a vicious circle of reciprocal violence through sacrifice of a scapegoat. Girard supposed that human relations are essentially based on imitations and competitions. Social coexistence was maintained, reconciliation was achieved and violence was replaced by a circle of ritual killings as a foundation of religious and cultural order. Girard’s approach was influenced by Sigmund Freud and his work Totem and taboo and Émile Durkheim and his social explanation of religious life. The relationship of Girard’s view to the theory of Merlin Donald on the three stages in the evolution of culture and cognition could be discussed. Girard is convinced that Christianity presented a historical attempt to demonstrate an innocence of victims of traditional scapegoating.
mimesis; sacrifice; ritual; scapegoat; violence
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