Citation

Petkovšek R. Bogosl. Vestn. 2013; 73(3): 377-388.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2013, Faculty of Theology, University of Ljubljana)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The mimetic theory of René Girard proceeds from the axiom that man owes his origins and evolution to the desire to imitate, which is much stronger in man than in animals. Mimetic desire liberates him from natural mechanisms and creates his culture. Mimetic desire, however, not only makes man free but also subjects him to the mimetic mechanism, which leads to mimetic crisis and sacrificial murder. Mimetic desire and the freedom it creates are agents of murder. In pre-Christic archaic cultures mimetic desire was ritually controlled. In modern society, which is based on the freedom that Christ gained for man on the cross, the sacrificial mechanism is no longer ritually controlled. Freedom also wants to be radical. Within this new framework mimetic desire creates mimetic violence in its extreme forms such as genocide and suicide. Even violence of apocalyptic proportions is possible under these circumstances. The alternative to this is the submission to the will of the Father that Christ showed on the cross. Thus, he was able to give up mimetic desire and step out of the mimetic circle.

Language: sk

Keywords

Suicide; Genocide; Dostoyevski; Gelassenheit; Mimetic desire; Mimetic theory; René girard