René Girard’s concept of mimetic desire, scapegoat mechanism and biblical demystification

Recent article analyzes basic concepts of René Girard’s anthropology. Its aim is to provide an overview of the theory which was formulated by one of the greatest contemporary French thinkers, a member of French Academy and emeritus professor of Stanford University. It is not only restricted to present all themes of Girard’s thoughts, but it also attempts to contextualize his work in relation to other important thinkers like Freud and Nietzsche. The thought of René Girard fits no category. He presents his ideas from the perspective of many disciplines: literary critique, psychology, sociology, history, biblical exegesis and even theology. But this interdisciplinary diversity is only a starting point for specific and more general purpose – to answer the question “who is Man?”. The answer to this question is given by Girard in the spirit of his mimetic theory, the theory which contains three important ideas: the concept of mimetic desire, scapegoat mechanism and biblical demystification.