Transcripts of Girard Lectures on Mimetic Theory

Version: 4 (current) | Updated: 11/12/2025, 3:04:55 AM

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Description

Transcripts of Girard Lectures on Mimetic Theory

Overview

This collection comprises seven PDF transcripts of a lecture series delivered by French historian and philosopher René Girard. The texts are in English and were produced by the Arke Institute as part of the “Girard Lecture Series.” Each file corresponds to a single lecture (I–VII) and presents a full, verbatim transcript of Girard’s presentation, including footnotes and bibliographic references. The PDFs range from 600 KB to 900 KB in size.

Background

René Girard (1923‑2015) developed the theory of mimetic desire, arguing that human desire is imitative and that this imitation drives rivalry and violence. His work also explores the scapegoat mechanism and its resolution in Christian revelation. The lecture series was hosted by Arke, an organization that curates scholarly events and publications. The transcripts were digitized and published on the PINAX platform, with each file assigned an IPFS identifier for persistent storage.

Contents

  • Lecture I – Introduction to Mimetic Theory: foundational concepts of mimetic desire and imitation.
  • Lecture II – Mimetic Desire and Original Sin: the link between desire, imitation, and the notion of original sin.
  • Lecture III – Mimetic Rivalry and Girard’s Theodicy: analysis of divine justice and theodicy within the mimetic framework.
  • Lecture IV – The Scapegoat Mechanism: exploration of collective violence and the role of the scapegoat.
  • Lecture V – The Christian Revelation: how Christianity addresses and resolves the scapegoat mechanism.
  • Lecture VI – The Triumph of Modernity: critique of modern secularism and its impact on mimetic dynamics.
  • Lecture VII – The One Who Withholds: discussion of divine withholding and human longing.

Each transcript contains the full spoken text, explanatory footnotes, and a bibliography of cited works.

Scope

The collection covers the seven lectures delivered in the early 21st century (exact dates not specified) within a Western academic context. Topics include mimetic theory, desire, rivalry, the scapegoat mechanism, Christian revelation, modernity, and theodicy. The archive contains only textual transcripts; audio recordings, video footage, or supplementary lecture slides are not included.

Entities

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Entity Relationships

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Raw Cheimarros Data

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@file_pinax -> documents -> @girard_lecture_series:event {description: "Metadata record for the series of Girard lectures"}

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Version History (4 versions)

  • ✓ v4 (current) · 11/12/2025, 3:04:55 AM
    "Added description"
  • v3 · 11/12/2025, 3:03:55 AM · View this version
    "Added knowledge graph extraction"
  • v2 · 11/12/2025, 3:03:06 AM · View this version
    "Added PINAX metadata"
  • v1 · 11/12/2025, 3:02:56 AM · View this version
    "Reorganization group: Girard_Lecture_Transcripts"

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