Violence: how it forms us and how we can be self-critical about it // العنف وممارسات النقد الذاتي

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.13169/bethunivj.35.2018.0078
• Pages: 78-90
• Published date: 01 January 2018
• Date: 01 January 2018
• Author: James Alison

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BETHLEHEM UNIVERSITY JOURNAL 35 (2018)

Violence: how it forms us and how we can be self-critical

about it1

ﻲﺗاﺬﻟا ﺪﻘﻨﻟا تﺎﺳرﺎﻤﻣو ﻒﻨﻌﻟا

James Alison

Abstract

This article examines the value of René Girard’s thoughts concerning the relationship

between violence and the sacred for those involved in any kind of violence. It analyses

the three essential dimensions of the Girardian insight, including the mimetic nature of

desire, the working of the scapegoat mechanism in the process of humanization, and

the prophetic critique of sacrifice. Against the common misapprehensions about Girard’s

thought with regard to its falsifiability and ideological totality, this article proposes that

Girardian thought could serve as a as resource for self-criticism for those involved in

contexts of violence. The article outlines various moments of this process: heartbreak,

including the realization of sameness instead of difference; truthfulness, or the slow

process of exiting mendacity; the losing of an addiction to cheap meaning; and finally the

setting free of a healthy imagination.

Disclaimer: The opinions and views expressed in this article do not represent the opinions of the Journal’s

editorial board and staff of the Dean of Research at Bethlehem University. The accuracy of the material and

any errors in this publication are the sole responsibility of the author.

صخلم

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BETHLEHEM UNIVERSITY JOURNAL 35 (2018)