René Girard Boeken

The book explores the anorexia epidemic through the lens of mimetic desire, suggesting that our deepest desires are often imitated from societal models. Girard critiques the "culture of anorexia" and dissects the competitive nature behind conspicuous non-consumption, blending theoretical insights with relatable observations. His analysis reveals how societal influences shape personal desires, challenging readers to reconsider the motivations behind their choices and the implications of a culture that prizes such behaviors.

This study extends beyond the scope of literature into the psychology of much of our contemporary scene, including fashion, advertising, and propaganda techniques. In considering such aspects, the author goes beyond the domain of pure aesthetics and offers an interpretation of some basic cultural problems of our time.

Engages Carl von Clausewitz (1780-1831), the Prussian military theoretician who wrote On War. This title shows us a Clausewitz who is a fascinated witness of history's acceleration. It pushes aside the taboo that prevents us from seeing that the apocalypse has begun.

Things Hidden Since the Foundation of the World presents a highly original global theory of culture. Here, in his greatest work, René Girard explores the function of violence, mimetic desire and the mechanism of the scapegoat, in the history of society and religion. Girard's vision is a brilliant and devastating challenge to conventional views of literature, anthropology, philosophy and psychoanalysis.

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.

Never before translated in English, this 1973 discussion between Rene Girard (1923-2015) and other prominent scholars represents one of the most significant breakthroughs in mimetic theory. The conversation was an opportunity for Girard to debate with his interlocutors the theories he expounded in Violence and the Sacred.

"In this ground-breaking work, one of our foremost literary and cultural critics turns to the major figure in English literature, William Shakespeare, and proposes a dramatic new reading of nearly all his plays and poems. The key to A Theater of Envy is Girard's novel reinterpretation of "mimesis." For Girard, people desire objects not for their intrinsic value, but because they are desired by someone else - we mime or imitate their desires. This envy - or "mimetic desire" - he sees as one of the foundations of the human condition".--Back cover

In one volume, an anthology of seminal work of one of the twentieth century's most original thinkers.

Evolution and Conversion explores the main tenets of René Girard's thought in a series of dialogues. Here, Girard reflects on the evolution of his thought and offers striking new insights on topics such as violence, religion, desire and literature. His long argument is a historical one in which the origin of culture and religion is reunited in the contemporary world by means of a reinterpretation of Christianity and an understanding of the intrinsically violent nature of human beings. He also offers provocative re-readings of Biblical and literary texts and responds to statements by Daniel Dennett and Richard Dawkins. Including an introduction by the authors, this is a revealing text by one of the most original thinkers of our time.

How we are motivated to imitate wanting what others desire—Girard’s theory primed for the social media age.A Penguin ClassicRené Girard eludes easy categories, bridging the fields of literary criticism, anthropology, sociology, history, religion and theology. Influencing such writers as J. M. Coetzee and Milan Kundera, his insight into contagious violence looks ever more prophetic and relevant seven years after his death. In many ways he is the thinker for our modern world of social media and herd behavior. In this newly selected collection of writings, Cynthia L. Haven has created an approachable anthology of his work, addressing Girard's thoughts on the nature of desire, human imitation and rivalry, the causes of conflict and violence, the deep structure of religion and cultural subjects like opera and theatre. Girard spoke in language that was engaging, accessible and often controversial. A long-time friend and colleague, Haven shines a spotlight on his role as a public intellectual and profound theorist, inviting a new generation to his corpus.