Saintly Mimesis, Contagion, and Empathy in the Thought of René Girard, Edith Stein, and Simone Weil
Publication Type |
Journal Article |
Year of Publication |
2004 |
Author |
|
Journal |
Shofar: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Jewish Studies |
Volume |
22 |
Number |
2 |
Pages |
116-131 |
Publisher |
Purdue University Press |
Language |
English |
Publish Dates |
Winter |
Keywords |
affliction (malheur) |
Annotation |
The article begins with a relatively in-depth discussion of Girard’s notion of mimesis in relation to violence and the contagion of evil. Astell goes on to present a well developed consideration of Edith Stein’s three-part understanding of empathy, connecting it to recent discussions of simulation in psychology as well as to philosophy and ethics. Finally, she turns to a briefer treatment of Weil’s notion of decreation as a way of overcoming self-centredness opening the way for the possibility of genuine compassion. |