Simone Weil and René Girard: Violence and the Sacred
Religion in the perverted form of idolatry/ideology is at the root of violence for Simone Weil and René Girard. For Girard, "mimetic desire" expresses the idolization of another and ultimately of the self: when the individual’s expectations of achieving autonomy through another remain unfu...
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
2010
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| In: |
American catholic philosophical quarterly
Year: 2010, Volume: 84, Issue: 3, Pages: 565-587 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Girard, René 1923-2015
B Violence |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Parallel Edition: | Non-electronic
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| Summary: | Religion in the perverted form of idolatry/ideology is at the root of violence for Simone Weil and René Girard. For Girard, "mimetic desire" expresses the idolization of another and ultimately of the self: when the individual’s expectations of achieving autonomy through another remain unfulfilled, he seeks a scapegoat. For Weil, everyone is subject to "force" as recipient or perpetrator of violence which is catalyzed by ideology, a form of idolatry. While Weil focuses on the idolatry of ideas, both writers agree that the subject’s desire for absolute autonomy is the source of idolatry and violence. Furthermore, both presuppose suffering as the individual’s driving force, seeking relief in idols or scapegoats; accepting this suffering by imitating Christ is the solution, freeing one from selfish, idolatrous desires. |
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| ISSN: | 2153-8441 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: American catholic philosophical quarterly
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.5840/acpq201084337 |
