''Things Hidden Since the Foundation of the World'' (french: Des choses cachées depuis la fondation du monde) is a 1978 book by the French critic

René Girard René Noël Théophile Girard (; ; 25 December 1923 – 4 November 2015) was a French polymath, historian, literary critic, and philosopher of social science whose work belongs to the tradition of philosophical anthropology. Girard was the aut ...

; it presents a dialogue between Girard and the psychiatrists Jean-Michel Oughourlian and Guy Lefort.

Summary

''Things Hidden Since the Foundation of the World'' contains a comprehensive overview of Girard's work up to that point, and a reflection on the Judaeo-Christian texts. The book presents a dialogue between Girard and the psychiatrists Jean-Michel Oughourlian and Guy Lefort; the dialogue interrogates and develops Girard's central thesis. Girard's explicates three core mechanisms that govern widespread social interactions: * mimesis, the process by which individuals copy one another in escalation, leading to conflict * scapegoating, a process by which collective guilt is transferred onto victims, then purged * violence

Mimetic theory The mimetic theory of desire, an explanation of human behavior and culture, originated with the French historian, literary critic, and philosopher of social science René Girard (1923-2015). The name of the theory derives from the philosophical ...

posits that human behavior is based upon

mimesis Mimesis (; grc, μίμησις, ''mīmēsis'') is a term used in literary criticism and philosophy that carries a wide range of meanings, including ''imitatio'', imitation, nonsensuous similarity, receptivity, representation, mimicry, the act ...

, and that imitation can engender pointless conflict. Girard notes the productive potential of competition: "It is because of this unprecedented capacity to promote competition within limits that always remain socially, if not individually, acceptable that we have all the amazing achievements of the modern world," but states that competition stifles progress once it becomes an end in itself: "rivals are more apt to forget about whatever objects are the cause of the rivalry and instead become more fascinated with one another."

Publication history

''Things Hidden Since the Foundation of the World'' was first published in French in 1978 by

Éditions Grasset The Grasset Editions () is a French publishing house founded in 1907 by (1881–1955). History Founder In 1913, Bernard Grasset publishes the first volume of ''À la recherche du temps perdu'', by Marcel Proust, '' Du côté de chez Swann'', ...

& Fasquelle. In 1987, an English translation was published by

The Athlone Press Continuum International Publishing Group was an academic publisher of books with editorial offices in London and New York City. It was purchased by Nova Capital Management in 2005. In July 2011, it was taken over by Bloomsbury Publishing. , all ...

in the United Kingdom and

Stanford University Press Stanford University Press (SUP) is the publishing house of Stanford University. It is one of the oldest academic presses in the United States and the first university press to be established on the West Coast. It was among the presses officially ...

in the United States.

Reception

The book became a national bestseller in France, and according to Chris Fleming offers "very substantial" reflection on the Judaeo-Christian texts and provoked "intense (and often heated) discussion in the upper echelons of the French academy. Theorists such as

Michel Serres Michel Serres (; 1 September 1930 – 1 June 2019) was a French philosopher, theorist and writer. His works explore themes of science, time and death, and later incorporated prose. Life and career The son of a bargeman, Serres entered France's ...

Paul Ricoeur Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chris ...

, and

Philippe Sollers Philippe Sollers (; born Philippe Joyaux; 28 November 1936) is a French writer and critic. In 1960 he founded the ''avant garde'' literary journal ''Tel Quel'' (along with writer and art critic Marcelin Pleynet), which was published by Le Se ...

were all admirers of the work, and, later, other theorists such as the renowned Italian philosopher

Gianni Vattimo Gianteresio Vattimo (born 4 January 1936) is an Italian people, Italian philosopher and politician. Biography Gianteresio Vattimo was born in Turin, Piedmont. He studied philosophy under the existentialism, existentialist Luigi Pareyson at the Un ...

and the Canadian social and political theorist Charles Taylor expressed - and, indeed, continue to express - more than a token admiration for Girard's project."

References

Bibliography

;Books * * {{Authority control 1978 non-fiction books Books by René Girard Éditions Grasset books French non-fiction books