Cite this article as:
Gafurov M. V. The dialectics of antagonism: The critique of G. W. F. Hegel’s philosophy in R. Girard’s mimetic concept. Izvestiya of Saratov University. Philosophy. Psychology. Pedagogy, 2022, vol. 22, iss. 3, pp. 243-247. DOI: https://doi.org/10.18500/1819-7671-2022-22-3-243-247
The dialectics of antagonism: The critique of G. W. F. Hegel’s philosophy in R. Girard’s mimetic concept
Introduction. In this article, the author examines the mimetic concept of R. Girard in the context of the correspondence polemic with the philosophy of Hegel, in the interpretation of A. Kojeve. Theoretical analysis. As part of the historical and philosophical research, the author identifi es the similarities and diff erences between these concepts, discovers the reception and infl uence of Hegel’s philosophy on Girard’s mimetic concept. The conceptual apparatus of the mimetic concept is analyzed: mimesis, mimetic desire, indiff erence, sacrifi ce, and similarities between these notions and the concepts in Hegel’s philosophy are revealed. Particular attention is paid to Girard’s critical view of Hegelian thought: the dialectic of antagonism, and the concept of the “end of history”. The author conducts a comparative analysis of these philosophical concepts, focusing on the problem of desire in Hegel and Girard, as well as on the phenomenon of sacrifi ce. A separate research interest is the infl uence on the views of Girard by the authors who were infl uenced by A. Kojeve such as Jean-Paul Sartre, Roger Caillois, and Georges Bataille. Conclusion. Despite Girard’s attempt to distance himself from Hegel’s philosophy, Hegel’s influence is revealed, in the interpretation of A. Kojeve, on some of Girard’s key concepts: the problem of desire, the antagonistic nature of human existence, and sacrifice as an anthropological principle.
- Girard R. Achever Clausewitz. Paris, Carnets Nord, 2007. 368 p. (Russ. ed.: Zhirar R. Zavershit Klauzevitsa. Moscow, BBI Publ., 2019. 300 p.).
- Palaver W. RenéGirard’s Mimetic Theory. East Lansing, Michigan State University Press, 2011. 403 p.
- Kojeve A. Introduction to the Reading of Hegel; Lectures on the Phenomenology of Spirit. New York, Basic Books, 1969. 287 p.
- Girard R. La violence et le sacré. Paris, Grasset, 1972. 451 p. (Russ. ed.: Zhirar R. Nasilie i svyashchennoe. Moscow, Novoe literaturnoe obozrenie Publ., 2010. 448 p.).
- Lévi-Strauss C. Nous sommes tous des cannibales. Précédé de Le père Noël supplicié. Paris, Le Seuil, 2013. 287 p.
- Girard R. Mensonge romantique et la vérité romanesque. Paris, Fayard/Pluriel, 2011. 352 p. (Russ. ed.: Zhirar R. Lozh romantizma i pravda romana. Moscow, Novoe literaturnoe obozrenie Publ., 2019. 352 p.).
- Ramelow A. T. Sacrifice in Hegel and Girard. In: Palaver W., Schenk R., eds. Mimetic Theory and World Religions. East Lansing, Michigan State University Press, 2017, pp. 13–63.
