Girard and necessary violence: Considerations in the scapegoat

Abstract

This article presents some considerations on the central role of the scapegoat in Girard’s reflection on the relationship between violence and the sacred. The author emphasizes how this figure, together with the concepts of mimicry and sacrificial crisis, contributes to the construction of an image of the world and an interpretation of human relations and public institutions. Girard’s symbolic analysis seems to draw heavily on tragic mythology, turning it into an interpretative paradigm. However, the article adopts a critical and skeptical approach to Girard’s theses, highlighting certain limitations of the proposed interpretative model. Starting from the description of the tragic hero, the path and stages that lead him to become an expiatory victim are analyzed in order to understand the ambiguous and deeply rooted nature of violence. Subsequently, the author examines the validity of the Girardian paradigm and identifies the weaknesses of the proposed interpretative approach. The aim of the article is to offer an in-depth reflection on the figure of the scapegoat and its impact on the understanding of violence and the sacred, constructively criticizing Girard’s theses and trying to determine their conviction and internal consistency.