Resurrection From The Underground

Feodor Dostoevsky

Rene Girard

Recommended By

Book Synopsis

Resurrection From The Underground by Rene Girard dives into the depths of human desire and the power dynamics that shape our society. Through a close examination of influential literary works and cultural myths, Girard unveils the destructive nature of mimetic desire and the scapegoat mechanism.

Drawing from the works of Dostoyevsky, Cervantes, Shakespeare, and others, Girard explores how the resurrection of Christ disrupts the cycle of violence inherent in human affairs. With incisive analysis, he reveals how our collective fear of death and our relentless pursuit of rivalry lead to societal turmoil and the sacrificial victimization of others.

Girard's work exposes the fallacy of mimetic rivalry, in which we imitate others out of a misguided belief that it will fulfill our desires. He argues that the primal fear of contagion and exclusion drive individuals to turn against each other in a perpetual war of imitation. This rivalry, often fueled by envy and resentment, ultimately results in the sacrifice of a chosen victim who is blamed for society's ills.

However, according to Girard, in the resurrection of Christ lies the hope for liberation from this destructive cycle. By exposing the violence and scapegoating mechanisms, the resurrection reveals the necessary sacrifice of Jesus as a means to transcend mimetic rivalry and restore harmony within society.

Resurrection From The Underground is a thought-provoking exploration of human desires, violence, and the potential for redemption. Girard's critical analysis unearths the universal patterns of behavior that underpin our societal structures, offering an alternative path towards peace and understanding.

With its meticulous examination of literary classics and philosophical concepts, this book offers readers the opportunity to reflect on their own desires and the impact of mimetic rivalry on their lives and relationships. Resurrection From The Underground serves as a powerful reminder of the transformative power of love, forgiveness, and the need for communal reconciliation.

Explore More Books

See All
Lake Success
Valuation
A Sound of Thunder and Other Stories
The Selfish Gene
Going Infinite
The Psychedelic Explorer's Guide
The Diversity Myth
The Upside of Stress
The Story of Civilization: Our Oriental Heritage
Joy on Demand
The Invisible Gorilla
The Inimitable Jeeves
Foundation and Empire
The Fry Chronicles
Win Bigly
Confessions of a Pricing Man
Statistical Models
Graphs, Maps, Trees
The Power Law
Nexus
Age Of Ambition
David Bowie
Man, Economy, and State
Lessons
Rick and Morty Book Four
Trump and Churchill
Big World, Small Planet
The Things They Carried
The Araboolies of Liberty Street
A Confederacy of Dunces
A Bold Return to Giving a Damn
Radical Acceptance
Principles
Coyote America
Good Profit
I Contain Multitudes
Posterity: Letters of Great Americans to Their Children
Alpha Girls
Lincoln at Gettysburg
Men, Machines, and Modern Times
How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big
1000 Ways to Make $1,000
A Matter of Degrees
The Passage of Power
Cry, The Beloved Country
Swallows and Amazons
The Four Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive
The Creative Act
Unravelling the Double Helix
Lone Survivor
The Story of Design
The Complete Guide to Sales Force Incentive Compensation
Globalization and its Discontents
Three Blind Mice
These Truths
Aware
Getting to Yes
Die With Zero
Bet With the Best
Stealing Fire
Kingpin
A Short History of Myth
Walt Disney
Striking Thoughts
Inside Trump's White House
Walden
Prisoners of Geography
Wind, Sand and Stars
Infectious Generosity
How To Live
Edison
A Guide To Econometrics
A Cultural History of Physics
Joe Beef
Debt
March
Build
She Has Her Mother's Laugh
The Interpretation of Dreams
XKCD
The Fund
Nature Via Nurture
Happiness
Bull!
Eradication
Pippi Longstocking
Essentialism
My Stroke of Insight
Team of Teams
The Making of Europe
No Two Alike
The Essential Scratch and Sniff Guide to Becoming a Wine Expert
The Tartar Steppe
Skunk Works
Hail Mary
Value-added Measures in Education
American Nations
Moby Dick
Dictionary of Untranslatables
How An Economy Grows and Why It Crashes