Saintly Mimesis, Contagion, and Empathy in the Thought of René Girard, Edith Stein, and Simone Weil
"Empathy" and "contagion" are semantically related in their common reference to the suffering of infectious disease, spiritual and physical. How exactly do they differ as interpersonal phenomena? René Girard establishes a link between mimetic behavior and the contagious transfere...
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Purdue Univ. Press
2004
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| In: |
Shofar
Year: 2004, Volume: 22, Issue: 2, Pages: 116-131 |
| Further subjects: | B
Girard, René (1923-2015)
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| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Parallel Edition: | Non-electronic
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| Summary: | "Empathy" and "contagion" are semantically related in their common reference to the suffering of infectious disease, spiritual and physical. How exactly do they differ as interpersonal phenomena? René Girard establishes a link between mimetic behavior and the contagious transference of emotion that spreads through groups of people, resulting in victimage. Jewish philosophers Edith Stein and Simone Weil distinguish such an emotional transference from genuine empathy, which involves a different, ethical stance and a saintly imitation. Empathy for the afflicted individual, in fact, makes one immune to the contagion that too often results in scapegoating. |
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| ISSN: | 1534-5165 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Shofar
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