Johnathan at Limbo

Christianity exposed the injustice of scapegoating and, in doing so, robbed us of the cathartic tools which early human societies used to contain and resolve violence. Today, the Katechon which prevents violence from overflowing is three institutions that limit and channel violence: Law, Capitalism, and War. By tracing a genealogy for all three institutions, Girard comes to the terrifying conclusion that these final bulwarks against apocalypse are on the verge of collapse. More precisely, their collapse is already underway.00:00:00 Introduction00:03:13 Violence in Modernity00:09:05 Mimetic Contagion in Modernity00:11:21 Scapegoating in Modernity00:14:20 Divinization and Institutionalization in Modernity00:18:51 The Katechon of Law00:21:42 The Monopoly Over Violence00:28:08 The Price of Equality00:34:54 Kinetic and Potential Violence00:37:15 Prestige, Catharsis, and Violence00:41:50 The Logic of Retribution and the Logic of Guilt00:46:05 The Katechon of Capitalism00:55:36 Capitalism and Violence00:59:17 Incendiary Global Trade01:02:32 The Katechon of War01:06:58 The Gentleman's War01:10:38 Napoleon and Total War01:14:56 The Bomb01:17:47 The Case Against Political Action01:21:42 Conversion01:27:21 Holderlin and the Case for Withdrawal01:30:45 The End

Rescued by Christianity, modernity is distinctly different than the violent, deceitful, and stagnant societies of yore. We are the most loving, truthful, and innovative culture ever to exist. Resting uneasily alongside this fundamental affirmation of modernity, however, is Girard's puzzling insistence that things have barely changed at all: we now simply persecute victims under the banner of love, rigidly adhere to scientific dogmas under the guise of free inquiry, and package trivialities as radical innovations. Despite our high-minded ideals, stubborn human nature refuses to budge and, so, the perversions of modernity take on the shape of hypocrisy. Even humanity's greatest triumph is terribly ambivalent and limited.00:00:00 Introduction00:04:11 Modernity as Rupture00:08:09 Modernity as Continuity00:11:18 Metaphor of the Rocket00:13:40 The Force of Love00:22:08 Theatre00:24:49 Hypocrisy00:34:13 The Force of Truth00:38:11 The Epistemology of Love00:47:50 The Church of Science00:59:39 The Blindspots of Science01:05:06 The Force of Innovation01:15:49 Fashion01:22:00 An Ephemeral Triumph

For Girard, Christianity is radically different from all other religions in one crucial aspect: it takes the side of the innocent victim and, in doing so, exposes the violence and deceit of worldly order. We will explore how this intuition of innocence begins to take root in the Hebrew bible and blossoms into a resounding declaration in the Crucifixion. Girard presents us with an anthropology of the Cross: a translation of Christian phenomena into this-worldly, humanistic language. Girard's success in placing this world in the foreground, however, forces the other world and even God himself to retreat into the background. In Girard's unorthodox Christianity, God's absence is just as loud and jarring as humanity's presence.00:00:00 Introduction00:03:36 The Myth Vaccine00:08:56 Cain and Abel00:14:19 Joseph and His Brothers00:18:30 The Incompleteness of the Hebrew Bible00:21:31 Completing the Message00:26:51 The Crucifixion00:30:18 Christ's Innocence00:33:50 Christ's Truth00:37:31 Christ's Love00:41:28 An Anthropology of the Cross00:42:31 Girard's Interpretation of Satan00:44:57 Girard's Interpretation of the Christian Revelation00:45:47 Girard's Interpretation of the Anti-Christ00:49:05 Girard's Interpretation of the Kingdom of God00:50:08 Girard's Interpretation of the Apocalypse00:51:08 A Christian Dictionary00:54:10 Girard's Unorthodoxy: The Sacrificial Reading00:56:45 Girard's Unorthodoxy: God's Absence01:03:17 Girard's Unorthodoxy: Historical Christianity01:05:39 Girard's Unorthodoxy: Apocalyptic Ambivalence

Starting from lecture IV, we will move away from psychology and into Girard's history, beginning with the very first human societies. In times of internal turmoil, these early societies would converge on an innocent victim, attribute to him all the blame, murder this scapegoat in a brutal killing, and achieve peace through violent catharsis. These founding murders gave rise to institutions, cultures, and even gods themselves. Far are we from the comfort of social contracts. Girard's unsettling conclusion is that peace is built on the corpses of innocent victims. Worldly order demands violence and deceit.00:00:00 Introduction00:04:16 The Trojan War and Reciprocal Violence00:13:51 Oedipus and the Scapegoat Mechanism00:15:23 Step One: Mimetic Contagion00:25:06 Step Two: Founding Murder00:29:22 Consensus, Deceit, and Catharsis00:36:04 Three Marks of the Victim00:41:18 Step Three: Divinization00:46:30 A Revaluation of Values00:51:26 Step Four: Institutionalization01:03:33 The Violent Foundations of Society01:06:39 The Hymn of Purusha1:10:20 The Founding of Rome1:13:10 Moral Paradigm Shifts

In this lecture, we will finish painting the picture of Girardian psychology by understanding mimetic rivalry and negative mimesis. This picture will expose humans as fallen and certain psycho-social pathologies as inevitable: fetishization, alienation, bipolarity, masochism, oppression, and inequity. Girard's psychology, then, is also a theodicy — an inquiry into the origins of evil. For Girard, evil is not contingent on poorly designed societies but an inevitable consequence of corrupt human nature. We will never escape these pathologies no matter how much social “progress” is made. Girard's theodicy tampers our expectations of the world and inoculates us against a whole host of, what we can loosely call, critical theories. This is a critique of critique. 00:00:00 Introduction00:04:26 Internal and External Mediation00:10:50 Mimetic Rivalry00:33:33 Doubles00:35:24 False Differences00:37:58 American Psycho00:42:19 The Negative Phase of Mimesis00:46:33 Conforming to Contrarianism00:53:31 The Psycho-Social Pathologies of Man00:55:51 Fetishization00:56:39 Alienation00:59:08 Bipolarity01:01:01 Masochism01:04:27 Oppression01:07:56 Inequity01:10:03 Hegel's Theodicy01:13:22 Rousseau's Theodicy01:15:40 Girard's Theodicy01:20:14 A Critique of Critique

Mimesis, mimetic desire, and metaphysical desire are the fundamental building blocks of Girard's psychology. They will show us how even the most intimate aspects of our identity can be radically shaped by others and how to distinguish vanity from authenticity. These psychological fundaments are what make humans social animals, why prestige and recognition matter so much to us, and how we are able to form cultures and even language itself. They are responsible for humanity's greatest achievements, but they also render us helplessly fallen. Under scrutiny, metaphysical desire will reveal itself to be none other than original sin. 00:00:00 Introduction00:03:51 Mimesis00:08:16 Mimesis and Normativity00:17:34 Mimetic Desire00:29:17 What is Meant by "Being"00:31:53 The First End of Being: Reality00:34:38 The Second End of Being: Persistence00:35:31 The Third End of Being: Self-sufficiency00:41:36 Metaphysical Desire00:50:14 The Malleability of Metaphysical Desire00:52:09 The Power of Metaphysical Desire00:53:30 The Deceitfulness of Metaphysical Desire00:58:18 The Ungovernability of Metaphysical Desire01:00:31 Original Sin

Lecture I gives a brief overview of Girard's life and work. It summarizes the key conclusions of mimetic theory, distilling the most crucial ideas of this 10+ hour long lectures series into a digestible 2 hours. For those who are short on time, this synopsis is sufficient to give you a taste of Girard. For those embarking on the full journey, this lecture is a rough map that will orient you throughout the expansive, tumultuous, and dizzying terrain ahead. 00:00:00 Introduction00:05:05 The Case for Engaging Girard00:19:34 The Structure of This Lecture Series00:23:52 Girard's Biography00:29:06 What We Cover in Lecture I00:30:45 Mimesis00:33:43 Metaphysical Desire00:42:04 The Negative Phase of Mimesis00:51:20 The Scapegoat Mechanism01:03:05 Christianity01:10:55 Love and Hypocrisy01:13:38 Truth and Dogma01:18:04 Innovation and Imitation01:26:02 Violence and Apocalypse01:37:16 The Case Against Engaging Girard