Mimetic Desire and the Scapegoat Mechanism
르네 지라르의 모방욕망과 희생양 메커니즘
A monumental anthropological and religious theory positing that human desire is mimetic (imitated from models), generating destructive rivalry that societies historically resolve through the collective sacrificial murder of a scapegoat.
| Field | Religious Studies · Anthropology · Literature & Literary Theory |
|---|---|
| Level of analysis | Meso · Groups & Organizations |
| Paradigm | Conflict Theory Structuralism |
| Key figures | 👤 René Girard (르네 지라르) |
| Year | 1972 |
Key Claims
René Girard showed that desire is mimetic: we desire what others desire, inexorably breeding rivalries and all-against-all crises of undifferentiation. To avert total self-destruction, human communities polarize their fury onto a random scapegoat victim whose ritual execution restores sacred peace, founding human religion and institutions.
Further Reading
- Girard, R. (1972). La violence et le sacré. Grasset. (English: Violence and the Sacred, 1977, Johns Hopkins University Press).
- Girard, R. (1982). Le bouc émissaire (English: The Scapegoat).
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