René Girard
René Girard | |
|---|---|
Girard in 2007 | |
| Born | René Noël Théophile Girard 25 December 1923 |
| Died | 4 November 2015 (aged 91) Stanford, California, U.S. |
| Education | École Nationale des Chartes (MA) Indiana University Bloomington (PhD) |
| Known for | Fundamental anthropology Mimetic theory Mimetic desire Mimetic double bind Scapegoat mechanism as the origin of sacrifice and foundation of human culture Girard's theory of group conflict |
| Spouse | Martha Girard |
| Children | 3 |
| Awards | Académie française (Seat 37) Knight of the Légion d’honneur Commandeur of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | History, literary criticism, philosophy of social science |
| Institutions | Duke University Bryn Mawr College Johns Hopkins University State University of New York at Buffalo Stanford University |
| Doctoral students | Sandor Goodhart |
| Other notable students | Andrew Feenberg |
| Signature | |
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| Catholic philosophy |
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René Noël Théophile Girard (/ʒɪəˈrɑːrd/; French: [ʁəne nɔɛl teɔfil ʒiʁaʁ]; 25 December 1923 – 4 November 2015) was a French academic best known for developing mimetic theory, which posits that human desire is fundamentally imitative, leading to rivalry, violence and the scapegoat mechanism as foundations of religion and culture. Holding academic appointments primarily in literature departments in the United States, his interdisciplinary work influenced fields ranging from theology to economics to psychology and cultural studies.
Girard first outlined the foundations of mimetic theory in his debut book Deceit, Desire, and the Novel (1961), a work of literary criticism, and extended it to anthropology in Violence and the Sacred (1972). Things Hidden Since the Foundation of the World (1978), considered his magnum opus, synthesized these ideas while applying them to a reinterpretation of Christian scriptures. Later accessible works, such as The Scapegoat (1982) and I See Satan Fall Like Lightning (1999) further elaborated his biblical insights.
In 2005, he was elected to the Académie Française, one of its 40 "immortals".