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
The Agile Gene
How to Make Millions with Your Ideas
In the Heart of the Sea
The Hot Hand
The Anatomy of Buzz
A Practical Guide for Policy Analysis
The Infidel and the Professor
The Bullish Case for Bitcoin
How To Turn Down A Billion Dollars
Happy Money
Beating The Street
Sea Flight
More Than Enough
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius
The Great CEO Within
Dying Every Day: Seneca at the Court of Nero
Taken for Granted
Bend The Curve
Superforecasting
100 Plus
Billy Martin
A History of the English-Speaking Peoples
The Art of Seduction
The Neverending Story
The Essential Scratch & Sniff Guide to Becoming a Whiskey Know-It-All
The Attention Merchants
12 Rules For Life
The Net & The Butterfly
Endure
The Story of Civilization: The Age of Louis XIV
The Psychology of Intelligence Analysis
Something Deeply Hidden
Opportunity Knocks
The Construction of Social Reality
Trillion Dollar Triage
The Botany of Desire
The Skeptical Environmentalist
Scale
The Little Book of Bull Moves
The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind
Einstein
Product Design for the Web
The Surrender Experiment
The Bet
Double your Profits
The Closing of the American Mind
Hidden Potential
Blue Ocean Strategy
Talent Is Overrated
Mohammed and Charlemagne
Makers
Posterity: Letters of Great Americans to Their Children
Home Work
The Fear Factor
Viral
Technofeudalism
Putin's Kleptocracy
The Alchemist
Art of the Living Dead
Natural Born Heroes
The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross
No Bull
Innovating Out of Crisis
Bargaining for Advantage
Paper Lion
Matthew Barney & Elizabeth Peyton
An Immense World
The True Believer
Modern Engineering for Design of Liquid Propellant Rocket Engines
Roger Ailes: Off Camera
Nobody Wants To Read Your Sh*t
The Healing Journey
The Science of Success
A Mathematician's Lament
Chasing the Light
Mapping the Mind
Gold In The Grass
A History of the World in Seven Cheap Things
Not Fade Away
The Tao of Charlie Munger
Margin of Safety
Stress Test
My Family and Other Animals
The Inner Lives of Markets
Confidence Game
Absolute Tao
Dream Big
Origin Story
Endurance
The Man Who Fed The World
You Can Be a Stock Market Genius
Freakonomics
The Story of Civilization: The Reformation
Every Life Is On Fire
Measure What Matters
Black Elk
Traction
The Hard Thing About Hard Things
The Weather Makers
Nietzsche: Beyond Good and Evil