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Evolution and Conversion explores the main tenets of Rene 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.
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
Description
Evolution and Conversion explores the main tenets of Rene 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.
