Evolution and Conversion: Dialogues on the Origins of Culture

by René Girard

Publisher:

Bloomsbury Academic

, 2017

Evolution and Conversion explores the main tenets of René Girard's thought in a series of dialogues. Here, Girard reflects on the evolution of his thought and offers striking new insights on topics such as violence, religion, desire and literature. His long argument is a historical one in which the origin of culture and religion is reunited in the contemporary world by means of a reinterpretation of Christianity and an understanding of the intrinsically violent nature of human beings. He also offers provocative re-readings of Biblical and literary texts and responds to statements by Daniel Dennett and Richard Dawkins. Including an introduction by the authors, this is a revealing text by one of the most original thinkers of our time.

Features

Offers a clear overview of Girard's life and theory, and charts the development of his thinking over time.
Girard responds to 'anti-religious' arguments from Daniel Dennett and Richard Dawkins.
Includes an introduction by the editors Pierpaolo Antonello and Joao Cezar Castro Rocha.

Contents

Contents
Acknowledgements
Foreword
Introduction: 'One long argument from the beginning to the end'
Pierpaolo Antonello and Joao Cezar Castro Rocha

1 The Life of the Mind
2 'A Theory by Which to Work': The Mimetic Mechanism
3 The Symbolic Species
4 Dialogues and Criticism: From Frazer to Levi-Strauss
5 Method, Evidence and Truth
6 The Scandal of Christianity
7 Modernity, Postmodernity and Beyond

Chronology of Girard's Life
List of Girard's Publications
Index

Praise for Evolution and Conversion

For those who want a lively, general introduction to the thought of this seminal religious thinker [Rene Girard], Evolution and Conversion is a book not to be missed.

Girard is now well known for his multidisciplinary writings on religion and violence ... This book develops and reassesses ideas set out thirty years ago.

Product Details

• Title: Evolution and Conversion: Dialogues on the Origins of Culture
• Author: René Girard
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
• Print Publication Date: 2017
• Logos Release Date: 2024
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Ebook
• ISBNs: 9781350018242, 9781350018235, 1350018236, 1350018244
• Resource ID: LLS:9781350018242
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2024-04-08T21:14:40Z

About René Girard

René Girard (born December 25, 1923, Avignon, France) is a French historian, literary critic, and philosopher of social science. His work belongs to the tradition of anthropological philosophy.