The Palgrave Handbook of Mimetic Theory and Religion

Description

The Palgrave Handbook of Mimetic Theory and Religion draws on the expertise of leading scholars and thinkers to explore the violent origins of culture, the meaning of ritual, and the conjunction of theology and anthropology, as well as secularization, science, and terrorism. Authors assess the contributions of René Girard's mimetic theory to our understanding of sacrifice, ancient tragedy, and post-modernity, and apply its insights to religious cinema and the global economy. This handbook serves as introduction and guide to a theory of religion and human behavior that has established itself as fertile terrain for scholarly research and intellectual reflection. 4 The Emergence of Human Consciousness in a Religious ContextEvolution and Mimesis -- Sacrifice -- Attention-Grabbing and Strong Emotional Response -- Ecstatic Practices -- The Moral Obliquity of Sacrifice -- Symbolism and Mythical Narrative -- The Ritualistic and Mythical Mind -- Rites of Passage -- Further Reading -- 5 Freud, Moses and Monotheism, and the Conversation Between Mimetic Theory and Psychoanalysis -- Oedipal Subject to Interdividuality -- The Founding Murder -- Moses and Monotheism -- Freud and Girard: An Ongoing Dialogue -- Further Reading 6 Kristeva and the Question of OriginsFurther Reading -- 7 Girard and Burkert: Hunting, Homo Necans, Guilt -- Violence and Religion -- Mimetic Rivalry as the Source of Human Violence -- Victimization and Guilt in Light of Biblical Revelation -- Further Reading -- 8 Vengeance and the Gift -- Preventing Vengeance: The Logic of Sacrifice -- Prescribing Vengeance: The Vindicatory System -- Escaping Vengeance: The Logic of the Gift -- Further Reading -- 9 Mesoamerican Civilizations and Sacrifice -- Further Reading -- 10 Ã#x87 atalhÃœyÃơk, Archaeology, Violence Girard and the Axial AgeFurther Reading -- 14 Monotheism and the Abrahamic Revolution: Moving Out of the Archaic Sacred -- The Archaic Sacred: Peace Built on Violence -- The Biblical Difference -- Islam as Part of an Abrahamic Revolution -- The Cult of the Victim: Temptations Accompanying the Abrahamic Revolution -- Further Reading -- 15 The Eastern Revolution: From the Vedas to Buddhism, Jainism, and the Upanishads -- Ritual and Rivalry: The Vedas -- Beyond the Sacrifice: The Upaniá¹£ads and VedÄ#x81 nta -- Non-violence and NirvÄ#x81 na: Buddhism and Jainism Violence at Neolithic Ã#x87 atalhÃœyÃơkBlunt Force Trauma and Sling Stones -- A Potential Scapegoat -- Conclusion -- Further Reading -- From Rites to Writing -- 11 Introduction -- Further Reading -- 12 Lévi-Strauss and Girard on Mythology and Ritual -- Abandoning the Social, Repressing the Religious -- The Dismemberment of Myths and Rituals, and the â#x80 #x9C Spiralâ#x80 #x9D Method -- The Lesson of Myths and the Expulsion of Ritual -- The Return of Ritual -- Conclusion -- Further Reading -- 13 The Axial Moment and Its Critics: Jaspers, Bellah, and Voegelin