The new social psychology of France

Like Lacan, Girard's thought is centered not on appetite for objects but on the relation between the self and the subjectivity of the other, in this case by way of what Girard calls ‘mimesis’, a tendency to imitate not only the actions but also the inward attitudes, and especially the desires, of others; prompted by a sense of deficiency, we seek out something to desire, hoping to attain through it the ontological plenitude symbolized for us by the (god‐like) ‘mediator’ or model of our desire. Girard's theory of social origins is rooted in the idea that mimesis leads to generalized conflict which becomes resolved through a ‘victimizing mechanism’ culminating in a ‘sacrifice’. Girardian political economists, such as Paul Dumouchel, Jean‐Pierre Dupuy, and André Orléan, have drawn on these ideas in analyzing market mechanisms and the concepts of wealth and value. Jean‐Michel Oughourlian, a psychiatrist, has applied them to the analysis of suggestion and hypnosis, hysteria, and possession. The Girardian economists’ unmasking of the idea of wealth as an idol symbolizing our fascination with images of ontological plenitude adds a new element to the traditional Christian critique of avarice as well as the Buddhist critique of desire, and Oughourlian's analysis of the phenomena of possession and sorcery throws a new light both on traditional Wester demonology and on rituals of possession

Psychoanalysis · Social science · Sociology · Psychoanalysis and Psychopathology Research · Psychology · Psychotherapy Techniques and Applications · Social Psychology · Violence, Religion, and Philosophy

• Deceit, desire, and the novel

  René Girard•Deceit, desire, and the novel•1965

  Incluir item

• Violence and the Sacred

  René Girard•Violence and the sacred•1979

  Incluir item

• La Violence de la monnaie

  Michel Aglietta, André Orléan•La violence de la monnaie•1982

  Incluir item

• The Scapegoat

  René Girard, Yvonne Freccero•Scapegoat•1989

  Incluir item

• Job, the victim of his people

  Open Access•René Girard•Job, the victim of his people•1987

  Incluir item

• To Double Business Bound

  Carl A Rubino, René Girard•Modern Language Notes•1978

  Incluir item

• Violence and the Sacred

  Open Access•René Girard, Aisha Karim et al.•On Violence•1979

  Incluir item

• The new social psychology of France

  Eugene Webb•Religion•1993

  Incluir item

• La Route antique des hommes pervers

  Andrew J Mckenna, René Girard•SubStance•1987

  Incluir item

• René Girard

  Open Access•Jean-Claude Dussault•Studies in Religion/Sciences…•1981

  Incluir item