Modernity | René Girard's Mimetic Theory

Rescued by Christianity, modernity is distinctly different than the violent, deceitful, and stagnant societies of yore. We are the most loving, truthful, and innovative culture ever to exist. Resting uneasily alongside this fundamental affirmation of modernity, however, is Girard’s puzzling insistence that things have barely changed at all: we now simply persecute victims under the banner of love, rigidly adhere to scientific dogmas under the guise of free inquiry, and package trivialities as radical innovations. Despite our high-minded ideals, stubborn human nature refuses to budge and, so, the perversions of modernity take on the shape of hypocrisy. Even humanity’s greatest triumph is terribly ambivalent and limited.
00:00:00 Introduction
00:04:11 Modernity as Rupture
00:08:09 Modernity as Continuity
00:11:18 Metaphor of the Rocket
00:13:40 The Force of Love
00:22:08 Theatre
00:24:49 Hypocrisy
00:34:13 The Force of Truth
00:38:11 The Epistemology of Love
00:47:50 The Church of Science
00:59:39 The Blindspots of Science
01:05:06 The Force of Innovation
01:15:49 Fashion
01:22:00 An Ephemeral Triumph

[@bi.johnathan]

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[@DavidPerellChannel]

Girard is an instruction manual for dealing with the challenges of modernity.

[@fredrik8806]

You set an inspiring example with how much you have read. This lecture series made me pick up reading again after a few months of distraction, let's call it being guilty of desiring power.

[@bi.johnathan]

Welcome back to the warm embrace of lady philosophy.

[@pierre_theloveofwisdom]

@@bi.johnathanwhy would you lie too people as if your talking from your mind.

[@sketchesoharlem]

I came across Mimetic Theory and was about to dive right into Girard’s writings. Glad I came across these lectures, I would’ve been overwhelmed had I not stopped here first. Very thankful for this work, happy holidays.

[@risingwindspress]

Jean-Francois Lyotard said the EXACT same thing about scientific truth being tainted by state-funded productivity. Professor Michael Sugrue has an excellent series of videos on this topic on KZbin.

[@bi.johnathan]

Part of the inspiration of this lecture series is Professor Sugrue!

[@kkkkkristo]

What's the title(s) of those series? There are so many videos on M. Sugrue's YT channel...

[@prabhatgusain4310]

very respectable depth of knowledge! Thanks, both Johnathan and David. Ending 2022 on an intellectual high. 🎄

[@karlsapp7134]

I’m exploring these ideas again as one who has moved beyond Christian ideas of the world. My biggest revelation is how prevalent the scapegoat mechanism is among Christianity to this day. I was sold the idea of foreign missions through my early life and served faithfully in Asia for 10 years. The modern mission missions movement is a very powerful scapegoat mechanism for the church as they offer a certain amount of people, usually the “black sheep” to the foreign field in order to bolster the work of the local church. I was thrown out upon coming back from the field because I no longer submitted to the authority of the structures and ideology of the church. The cause? I claimed that Christs death was enough and the basis by which we should live. That meant we could truly own our wrong and seek the good of humanity over the institution. The punishment was swift. I was cut off from all relationships I had developed as a Christian. I am dangerous to them because I actually believe in resurrection, life and the interconnected Ness of all of life.

[@adrianjohnson7920]

This lecture illuminates the consistent if diffusely presented theme of Roberto Calasso's masterpiece, "The Ruin of Kasch". Many Thanks

[@elel2608]

1:15:19 innovation comes from not rejecting the past but respecting it (but also not idolizing it)

[@Alex-vm6ef]

Been really digging into this lecture series, watching and rewatching the installments until I really feel like I get it. Found it at a very good time. Have you ever read on the epistemology of Esther Meek? The epistemology of love discussed in this series seems to me an observation of the larger picture that her works are dedicated to. Hers are some of the most personally impactful books I've read outside the Bible, and holds so much more explanatory power than I've found in most modern philosophy.

[@Spokenwisdom1]

“I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestionable ability of man to elevate his life by conscious endeavor.” “The millions are awake enough for physical labor; but only one in a million is awake enough for effective intellectual exertion, only one in a hundred millions to a poetic or divine life. To be awake is to be alive. I have never yet met a man who was quite awake.” - Henry David Thoreau

[@bi.johnathan]

“Intellectuals are the only ones awake.” - intellectual 😛

[@7layeroscillator807]

thank you for these great lectures. on the edge of being accessible to the average everyday worker and participant in society. i will continue to take notes and try to be able to break it down even further for those folks. this kind of information is incredibly important

[@bi.johnathan]

Thanks!

[@kenjohnson6326]

This is very good and some of it, even much of it, is excellent. Really illuminating how Johnathan explains the relation between love and truth in the Epistemology of Love secction.

[@bi.johnathan]

Glad you are enjoying it ken!

[@nat.serrano]

Worldly good and spiritual chaos OR worldly chaos and spiritual good. Brilliant!

[@matthewkay1327]

Imitation probably breeds resentment rather than gratitude which leads to the rest.

[@wsmajewski1]

This is amazing! Hope more people have capacity to learn it all.

[@ChrisOgunlowo]

Oh my. Profound. "The Church of Science" will make a good book.

[@NgnMark]

W content

[@TylerMcConnell]

Bookmark 16:45

[@soccom8341576]

Proud to be first!

[@bi.johnathan]

🥇

[@techne_]

What is the order of Girard's books you'd suggest to new readers?

[@bi.johnathan]

1. When These Things Begin is the most accessible. Essentially an interview asking him about his opinions on many more contemporary issues. Helps you get a "taste" and intuition of his theory. 2. Then there are two routes. 2a. Longer and recommended: Desire, Deceit and the Novel for his psychology. Violence and the Sacred for his anthropology. I See Satan Fall Like Lightning for his reading on Christianity. 2b. Shorter but perilous: jumping straight into his magnum opus Things Hidden which covers all 3 topics: psychology, anthropology, and theology. If you do decide to go this route perhaps my notes will be of aid: johnathanbi.com/book-notes-summaries/things-hidden-since-the-foundations-of-the-world. I do strongly warn you against this seemingly shorter route. Kant, in the preface of the first critique tells us that if we judged a book by the length of time it takes to read and not the number of pages then some books would be much shorter if they weren't so short. I think you too will find that trying to take a short cut here in terms of page length will require more time for you to get through his work. 3. Battling to the End for his eschatology (end of the world). 4. With that you will have the "core" of Girard's system. You will be fluent enough to explore the rest of his corpus e.g. Theatre of Envy if you enjoy Shakespeare, Sacrifice for his commentary on Indian religion.

[@techne_]

@@bi.johnathan Thank you! It seems that I have taken the longer route. Intuition? I hope not. Best regards and many thanks for your work.

[@bi.johnathan]

@@techne_ Good luck on you journey of reading Girard. It's a challenging but very rewarding one.

[@alexmarinica5310]

Thank you for suggesting a more accessible route to the summit. Been struggling with Violence and the Sacred, then moved to Things Hidden in search for a more approachable incline. Now I can follow your map instead. Thank you!

[@bi.johnathan]

@@alexmarinica5310 Godspeed

[@eileenkenny9202]

Leo Straus- Neo- Conservative Movement Isothymia and Megalothymia-

[@isakw2]

When you are done with these lectures, what are you going to do then?

[@bi.johnathan]

Rest in Valhalla until Odin summons me for that doomed final stand. SKOL!

[@ivanvrljic6221]

Nah... conversations with Peterson, Vervaeke and Pageau becon

[@zxsw85]

How is this on KZbin trending like what up

[@ivanvrljic6221]

If this is on KZbin trending my hopes for the future of humanity have just improved

[@77agape]

"medieval institutions", wilson wasn't so right, medieval times gave us the UNIVERSITY, not to mention the Church which gave us the university, schools, hospitals and probably also modern science, not to mention the notion of dignity that is much shouted about & abused, yet nonetheless awesome, the middle ages had rough conditions but it was the feistyest, most productive age of all time, it was Light in darkness like no other era ever achieved, whilst we see the 20th century & all its discoveries, led to Darkness penetrating and destroying all its own little gadget like light..... paradox? Man without God, leaves all his ideas, achievements at sea, at a loss, we aint smart enough to live well without Him. That other age was the hobbiton of history, those little people got it done, the right way without the fireworks of silly modernity

[@SiriusLee12345]

Hello Johnathan. I just accidentally came across your Masters vs Slaves lecture and I must say, you've piqued my interest. I don't usually listen to things like these but I found that video really interesting as a person who came from a religious Catholic family. I just wanted to request that you make this video downloadable as well as other videos, if it's okay. Thanks again for making these videos. They're very enlightening.