Description
Book SynopsisIn René Girard and Secular Modernity, Scott Cowdell provides the first systematic interpretation of René Girard’s controversial approach to secular modernity.
Trade Review"Scott Cowdell is one of the most interesting theological voices of his generation. The themes in Cowdell's work are always cosmic and vast in scope. This is a remarkable reading of our contemporary situation through the lens of René Girard. Accurate, informed, and illuminating, Cowdell has written a fabulous book. For the person needing a way into Girard and for the person who is already using Girard's work, Cowdell brings out the implications of Girard for the moment in which we live. An absolutely essential addition to your personal library." —The Very Rev Dr. Ian Markham, Virginia Theological Seminary
"The strength of this book is the chilling clarity with which it explains the origins and the dynamic operations of human civilization as we know it, and the profound internal threats to that civilization that have been developing in secular modernity. . . . This is a good book on a very, indeed vitally important subject." —America
“More than any other study devoted to Girard, Cowdell incorporated Girard’s more recent writings and interviews into a total picture of mimetic theory and brings it into conversation with modern secularism. . . . [His] book deserves a place among the pantheon of works that show the importance of mimetic theory for Christian theology.” —Theological Studies
“Everything is completed by the fact that the three terms of the subtitle interact one with another in an exciting way. This gives the main flavor of the book and, at the same time, its power. . . . Everything is done ably and efficiently, and Cowdell’s text is adorned with strategic references and quotations: key passages and conclusions are provided with the strongest statements by Girard himself.” —Ecclesia orans
“The book has thirty-eight pages of notes, a bibliography and index. It belongs in every library that studies peace, war, and violence.” —Catholic Library World
“Cowdell here continues his exploration of the work of Girard as a resource for Christian theology and for its relevance to the current cultural crisis. . . . This is a serious study in terms of content and a reliable and patient exposition of the basic terms and ideas found in Girard’s long life of writing. For the more advanced Girardian student, Cowdell is not afraid to extend the master’s method and illustrate it in new ways in a rapidly changing world.” —Australian eJournal of Theology
“Cowdell is a flag-waving disciple who really does believe that Girard has found the ‘key’ to unify the human sciences in a way similar to how Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection became the foundational key for the modern life sciences. He explains clearly, simply, and with apposite examples the elements of Girard’s theory, and brings it up-to-date with an emphasis on Girard’s last work.” —The Heythrop Journal
“The work of René Girard would not seem all that relevant to Thomists. . . However, in my estimation, Girard’s thought is not just important to Thomists, it is indispensable. Scott Cowdell’s book is a persuasive and erudite argument for why this is the case. It is not only a masterful synthesis of Girard’s entire corpus and intellectual genealogy of his thought, but it is also itself a profound analysis of the genealogy and trajectory of secular modernity in the light of Girard’s work. It brings to bear upon this analysis numerous citations of Girardian scholars, the authors and works most influential upon Girard, and his own voice as an eminent Anglican theologian. Dr. Cowdell’s book is now the standard treatment of Girard’s thought on secular modernity.” —The Imaginative Conservative
“Drawing upon a large and at times daunting pantheon of notable modern figures, Cowdell focuses attention upon a Girardian reading of modernity—specifically, the freedom and autonomy offered by modernity and the process of secularization that are actually a further entrenching of the perils of mimetic desire. . . . Putting Girardian theories in dialogue with recent developments in cognition, neuroscience, developmental psychology, and behavioural studies of animals, Cowdell draws our attention to the way in which Girard’s theories are less individualistic than modern psychological theories.” —International Journals of Public Theology
“In this very-well-researched book, one is introduced to the basics of the Girardian theory, which provides the basis for Girard’s insights on secularism and modernity. . . . Overall, Cowdell’s book is an enlightening, enticing read and will most likely become a must read for those studying, or interested in, theology.” —Journal of Ecumenical Studies
Table of ContentsAcknowledgements
Introduction
1. Overture to Mimetic Theory
2. From Violence to Divinity
3. From Hominization to Apocalypse
4. Girard Among the Theologians
5. A Divine-Human Drama
6. The Shadow Side of Finitude
7. Divine Overaccepting
8. Christ, the Nonviolence of God
Conclusion
Bibliography
Index
