Somali Tales

In my fiction, « a True Mission », the violence will enfold gradually.

As a researcher, the best way to envision violence in a future without religions would be to use a theoretical framework. I already mentioned my love for René Girard’s work. So this post is specifically about his work.

If you are interested, here is a list of articles I have collected to research the theme of mimetic desires, in the context of violence.

Mimetic desires

As a reminder, mimetic desire could be the root of human violence. Through the study of great literary work, Girard uncovered what he called mimetic desires and scapegoating,

Mimetic desire is the natural inclination that human have toward the desires of another person. Whether it is a romantic partner, an object or a concept, the individual imitates another by desiring the same thing. An individual cannot perceive or recognize his or her own desires, and pursue what others are pursuing. Thus, the individual is not autonomous. He or she is dependent on others interests and action toward the object. Unable to fully explore his or her own interiority, the individual needs to imitate others, creating rivalry which leads to conflict and finally violence.

Girard often used story from the Bible and Abel and Cain’s story is very emblematic of mimetic desire. The first recorded act of violence between humans led to murder and possibly exile, and generational curse.

As a result of these crimes, and after many violent outbursts, societies have developed rituals, including scapegoating, to control our violent impulses.

To learn more about mimetic desire, here are the selected articles. They are varied and I have not read them all yet. I’ll explore some of them in a future post.

Author(s): Timo Airaksinen. (2019). Book Title: Vagaries of Desire: A Collection of Philosophical Essays Book Chapter Title: René Girard and Mimetic Desire. Published by: Brill.

Author(s): Anthony R. Lusvardi, S.J.Title: Girard and the “Sacrifice of the Mass”: Mimetic Theory and Eucharistic Theology. Source: Contagion: Journal of Violence, Mimesis, and Culture, Vol. 24, No. 1 (Spring 2017), pp. 159-190. Published by: Michigan State University Press

Author(s): Pierpaolo Antonello and Alessandra Diazzi. Title: Introduction: Intersubjectivity, Desire, and Mimetic Theory: René Girard and Psychoanalysis. Source: Contagion: Journal of Violence, Mimesis, and Culture, Vol. 26 (2019), pp. 1-8 Published by: Michigan State University Press.

Author(s): Robert Brooke. Title: René Girard and the Dynamics of Imitation, Scapegoating, and Renunciative Identification: A Response to Richard Boyd. Source: JAC, Winter 2000, Vol. 20, No. 1 (Winter 2000), pp. 167-176 Published by: JAC.

Author(s): Scott R. Garrels. Imitation, Mirror Neurons, and Mimetic Desire: Convergence between the Mimetic Theory of René Girard and Empirical Research on Imitation. Source: Contagion: Journal of Violence, Mimesis, and Culture, 2006, Vol. 12/13 (2006), pp. 47-86. Published by: Michigan State University Press.

Author(s): George L. Frear, Jr. Title: René Girard on Mimesis, Scapegoats, and Ethics. Source: The Annual of the Society of Christian Ethics, 1992, Vol. 12 (1992), pp. 115-133. Published by: Philosophy Documentation Center.

Author(s): René Girard. Title: Innovation and Repetition. Source: SubStance, 1990, Vol. 19, No. 2/3, Issue 62/63: Special Issue: Thought and Novation (1990), pp. 7-20. Published by: The Johns Hopkins University Press

Author(s): Randall S. Rosenberg. Book Title: The Givenness of Desire. Book Subtitle: Concrete Subjectivity and the Natural Desire to See God. Chapter Title: Incarnate Meaning and Mimetic Desire: Saints and the Desire for God. Book Published by: University of Toronto Press. (2017)

Just to let you know, very soon my Jstor subscription will come to an end 😦 I’m going to cry so muuuuch when I’ll be denied access… ugh. In the meantime I’m reading everything I can so let me know if there is an interesting article I’m missing. On any subject really: violence, fiction, dystopia and utopia. Once I’ve scanned through the articles, I’ll also post some interesting article on Octavia Butler’s and Orwell’s writing.

See you all very soon.