Abstract
The chapter offers a critical assessment of René Girard's theory of sacrifice. It is not always recognized that Girard's influential theory of sacrifice is based on a specific anthropology. Its foundation is the notion of mimetic desire; according to this principle, human desire is automatically attracted to and structured by the wishes and desires of others in a way which causes human relationships to be marked by mimetic rivalry. The text argues that this is a skewed perception of human agency which ignores the existence and significance of other motivational factors originating in the preferences of the subject. According to the perspective of Girard's mimetic theory, human beings are reduced to puppets of the blind force of mimetic desire; free will, affirmation of the good, and responsible action cannot be accounted for in this reductionist conception of human nature.
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