The Phenomenon of Girard
Abstract
Is he one of the really great thinkers or a dilettante? René Girard’s person and work divide opinions. His approach to reach scientific insight seems too radical. He is one of the few intellectuals who not only intentionally transgress the boundaries between disciplines but also place the quest for truth at the center of the process of gaining knowledge. He talks unashamedly about the importance of conversion for the process of developing theories as well as for one’s personal biography. As a scholar of literature he does not limit his scope to texts but develops an anthropology. His theory about the dead ends of mimetically structured human desire leads to a theory of religion and culture. His fundamental thesis that the scapegoat mechanism is at the root of both archaic religion and today’s social structures bridges the divergent theories about the genesis of archaic and modern cultures. The mythological core of this mechanism hides the victims produced in order to stabilize and pacify a society. In contrast to this logic of myth, the “true God” reveals an outline for an alternative culture: it is not based on the rationality of the scapegoat mechanism but it is supported by an intentional mindset of reconciliation. This description of the relationship between myths and revelation also bridges the gap between religious and cultural studies on the one hand and theology on the other. Not only for these reasons, one can say Girard is a great thinker of the present.
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