Keywords
mimetic desire
violence
reconciliation
gift
How to Cite
Abstract
This article presents initial elements for a theological reception of mimetic theory in the context of the postmodern critique of instrumental reason. In connection with a phenomenology of subjectivity and the pragmatics of discursive ethics, René Girard contributes to critically analyze the problem of intersubjectivity as a key category within the late modern thought. In particular, through the analysis of the difficult constitution of subjectivity within liberal societies in the West, a theory of mimetic desire appears to account for the complex web of relations of desire, power and domination in which a subject builds its identity face to face to the others. The relevance of Christian faith in this context may be seen as a way to solve the enigma of the violent desire and to open new possibilities of our intersubjective constitution from the reconciliation that comes from the forgiving victim.
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