The Mimetic Crisis in René Girard’s Project of “Fundamental Anthropology”: Main Aspects

Abstract

The focus of this paper is on comprehension of concepts and problems central to the theory of Franco-American philosopher and anthropologist R. Girard. Despite the recent increase of interest in the ideas of the author among Russian-speaking audience, in Russian educational community his creative heritage have not yet been sufficiently explored. The topics developed by R. Girard have a significant place in the modern science of man and society: the nature of human aggression, the origins of religious and cultural institutions, the phenomenon of crowd and the laws of imitation, the social morality. The paper aims to analyze the most important problems and concepts of R. Girard’s philosophical project (scapegoat, constituent violence, duplicity, sacrifice), focusing on the mimetic theme inside his theory. Researching various sources, from ancient literature and mythology to studies in psychology and ethology, the author of “Fundamental Anthropology” reaches the conclusion that at the basis of all social institutions lies mimetic capacity that makes human beings reproduce the actions and borrow desires of their tribesman. The “desire without object”, leading to mimetic rivalry, represents a threat to the stability of society, reflected in a risk of mimetic crisis, destabilization of moral values and “war of all against all”. According to Girard, the practice of sacrifice acts as a compensatory mechanism, so-called “pharmakon”, which helps to overcome the destructive consequences of mimesis.