Mimesis and Sacrifice: Applying Girard's Mimetic Theory Across the Disciplines (Violence, Desire, and the Sacred)

Central to identity, personal responsibility, economic systems, theology, and the political and military imaginaries, the practice of sacrifice has inspired, disturbed, and abused. Mimesis and Sacrifice brings together scholars from the humanities, military, business, and social sciences to examine the role that sacrifice plays in different present-day settings, from economics to gender relations. Inspired by Rene Girard's work, chapters explore (i) the extent to which the social character of human living makes us mimetic, (ii) whether mimesis necessarily leads to competitive aggression, (iii) whether aggression must be defused by aggressive sacrificial rituals-and whether all sacrifice has this aim, and (iv) the role of the "second lesson of the cross" (as Girard called it), the lesson of self-giving for others, in addressing present societal problems. By investigating sacrifice across this span of arenas and questions yet within one volume, Mimesis and Sacrifice presents a new appreciation of its influence and consequences in the world today, contributing not only to mimetic theory but to greater understanding of which societal arrangement enable us to live well together and what hobbles that goal. Cover Half title Series page Title Copyrights Contents Acknowledgments Introduction Marcia Pally Part One Our Understanding of Sacrifice, Expanded: Origins, Development, Types, and Valence 1 A Comparative and Evolutionary Perspective on Sacrifice and Cooperation Peter M. Kappeler 2 Sacrifice Between West and East: René Girard, Simone Weil, and Mahatma Gandhi on Violence and Nonviolence Wolfgang Palaver 3 Patterns of Sacrifice and Power Structure Hassan Rachik 4 Rabbinic Reflections on Intentional Sacrifice and Sanctification Tsvi Blanchard 5 Kant on Sacrifice and Morality David Pan 6 Sacrifice amid Covenant: From Abuse to Gift Marcia Pally 7 Generative Sacrifice: Girard, Feminism, and Christ Anna Mercedes 8 Sacrifice and Liberation: A Reading by the Magisterium of the Catholic Church in Latin America Francisco Canzani Part Two Is the “Problem” of Sacrifice a Problem of Conceptualizing Masculinity? 9 Between Victim and Perpetrator: Constructions of Heroic Masculinity and the Religion of Death Ulrike Brunotte 10 The Ambiguity of Sacrifice in a Post-Heroic Nation: A Military Perspective Rolf von Uslar Part Three An Expanded Understanding of Sacrifice Applied to the Economic, the Political, and the Future 11 Gift or Sacrifice? History, Politics, and Religion John Milbank 12 Strategy, Spectacle, or Self-emptying? Sacrifice and the Search for Business Ethics Philip Roscoe 13 Common Good Economy: Capitalism, Sacrifice, and Humanity Adrian Pabst 14 Suffering and Sacrifice in an Unfinished Universe Ilia Delio, OSF Concluding Thoughts Marcia Pally Notes on Contributors Index of Names and Concepts "Central to identity, personal responsibility, economic systems, theology, and the political and military imaginaries, the practice of sacrifice has inspired, disturbed, and abused. Mimesis and Sacrifice brings together scholars from the humanities, military, business, and social sciences to examine the role that sacrifice plays in different present-day settings, from economics to gender relations. Inspired by Rene Girard's work, chapters explore (i) the extent to which the social character of human living makes us mimetic, (ii) whether mimesis necessarily leads to competitive aggression, (iii) whether aggression must be defused by aggressive sacrificial rituals-and whether all sacrifice has this aim, and (iv) the role of the"second lesson of the cross" (as Girard called it), the lesson of self-giving for others, in addressing present societal problems. By investigating sacrifice across this span of arenas and questions yet within one volume, Mimesis and Sacrifice presents a new appreciation of its influence and consequences in the world today, contributing not only to mimetic theory but to greater understanding of which societal arrangement enable us to live well together and what hobbles that goal."--Bloomsbury Publishing.