Mimesis and Science: Empirical Research on Imitation and the Mimetic Theory of Culture and Religion PDF
Preview Mimesis and Science: Empirical Research on Imitation and the Mimetic Theory of Culture and Religion
Mimesis and Science STUDIES IN VIOLENCE, MIMESIS, AND CULTURE SERIES SERIES EDITOR William A. Johnsen The Studies in Violence, Mimesis, and Culture Series examines issues related to the nexus of violence and religion in the genesis and maintenance of culture. It furthers the agenda of the Colloquium on Violence and Religion, an international association that draws inspiration from René Girard’s mimetic hypothesis on the relationship between violence and religion, elaborated in a stunning series of books he has written over the last forty years. Readers interested in this area of research can also look to the association’s journal, Contagion: Journal of Violence, Mimesis, and Culture. EDITORIAL BOARD Rebecca Adams, Independent Scholar Hans Jensen, Aarhus University, Denmark Mark Anspach, École Polytechnique, Paris Mark Juergensmeyer, University of California, Ann Astell, University of Notre Dame Santa Barbara Cesáreo Bandera, University of North Cheryl Kirk-Duggan, Shaw Divinity School Carolina Michael Kirwan, SJ, Heythrop College, Maria Stella Barberi, Università di Messina University of London Benoît Chantre, L’association Recherches Paisley Livingston, Lingnan University, Hong Mimétiques Kong Diana Culbertson, Kent State University Charles Mabee, Ecumenical Theological Paul Dumouchel, Ritsumeikan University Seminary, Detroit Jean-Pierre Dupuy, Stanford University, École Józef Niewiadomski, Universität Innsbruck Polytechnique Wolfgang Palaver, Universität Innsbruck Giuseppe Fornari, Università degli studi di Martha Reineke, University of Northern Iowa Bergamo Tobin Siebers, University of Michigan Eric Gans, University of California, Los Angeles Thee Smith, Emory University Sandor Goodhardt, Purdue University Mark Wallace, Swarthmore College Robert Hamerton-Kelly, Stanford University Eugene Webb, University of Washington Mimesis and Science Empirical Research on Imitation and the Mimetic Theory of Culture and Religion Edited by Scott R. Garrels Michigan State University Press · East Lansing Copyright © 2011 by Michigan State University ∞ The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of ANSI/ NISO Z39.48-1992 (R 1997) (Permanence of Paper). Michigan State University Press East Lansing, Michigan 48823-5245 Printed and bound in the United States of America. 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA Mimesis and science : empirical research on imitation and the mimetic theory of culture and religion / edited by Scott R. Garrels. p. cm. — (Studies in violence, mimesis, and culture) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-61186-023-8 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Imitation. I. Garrels, Scott R. II. Title. III. Series. BF357.M546 2011 302—dc22 2011008834 Cov er design by Sharp Des!gns, Inc. Book design by Aptara, Inc. Cover art is M.C. Escher’s “Encounter” © 2011 The M.C. Escher Company-Holland. All rights reserved. www.mcescher.com G Michigan State University Press is a member of the Green Press Initiative and is committed to developing and encouraging eco- logically responsible publishing practices. For more information about the Green Press Initiative and the use of recycled paper in book publishing, please visit www.greenpressinitiative.org. Visit Michigan State University Press on the World Wide Web at: www.msupress.msu.edu FM_[i-xvi].indd iv 11/24/10 5:49:29 PM This book is dedicated to my wife Joy, who graciously labored with me on this project through our engagement, marriage, and the fi rst year of our daughter’s life. Contents ix Preface 1 Chapter 1. H uman Imitation: Historical, Philosophical, and Scientifi c Perspectives Scott R. Garrels 39 Part 1. Imitation in Child Development and Adult Psychology 41 Chapter 2. F rom Universal Mimesis to the Self Formed by Desire Jean-Michel Oughourlian 55 Chapter 3. O ut of the Mouths of Babes: Imitation, Gaze, and Inten- tions in Infant Research—the “Like Me” Framework Andrew N. Meltzoff 75 Chapter 4. E motions and Mimesis Paul Dumouchel 87 Chapter 5. T he Two Sides of Mimesis: Mimetic Theory, Embodied Simulation, and Social Identifi cation Vittorio Gallese 109 Part 2. Imitation in Human Evolution, Culture, and Religion 111 Chapter 6. I mitation, Communion, and Culture Ann Cale Kruger 129 Chapter 7. I mitation and Violence: Empirical Evidence and the Mimetic Model Mark R. Anspach 155 Chapter 8. Sacred Violence, Mimetic Rivalry, and War Melvin Konner 175 Chapter 9. D esire, Mimesis, and the Phylogeny of Freedom William B. Hurlbut 193 Chapter 10. Naturalizing Mimetic Theory Jean-Pierre Dupuy 215 Chapter 11. M imesis and Science: An Interview with René Girard Scott R. Garrels 255 Contributors 261 Index Preface In May 2002, an interdisciplinary group of scientists and philosophers gathered in Royaumont Abbey, France, for an unprecedented meeting of the “imitative minds.” The purpose of this four-day conference was to discuss an array of recent scientifi c breakthroughs concerning the enormous, yet profoundly overlooked role of imitation in human life. The disciplines repre- sented were as diverse as child development, primatology, neurophysiology, social psychology, and philosophy of mind. The conference proceedings, which included nearly 50 contributors, were later published in a two-volume set that has since become the defi nitive collection on contemporary imitation theory and research1—with one major exception. Decades before advances in the empirical sciences prompted a surge of interest in imitation, the French literary analyst and cultural theorist René Girard had already developed his own theory of imitation, or mimetic theory. Beginning in the early 1960s, Girard identifi ed the generative role of imita- tion in human desire and motivation,2 including a profound understanding of the relationship between imitation, violence, and the origin and structure of human culture and religion.3 In fact, in March 2005 (the same month and year that the above volume on the science of imitation was published) Girard was inaugurated into the French Academy, an honor bestowed on him as a result of nearly 50 years of writing and research devoted to his overall argu- ment that our great capacity for imitation is far and away the most important, yet least understood of all human abilities. It is therefore remarkable that the respective literatures on Girard’s mimetic theory, and the contemporary ix
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