Wednesday, January 22, 2025 10am to 12pm
About this Event
Los Angeles, CA 90089
In this talk I’ll be mulling over the contrasting roles of violence in the theories of religions of Georges Bataille and René Girard. Both of these writers take note of the fact that for much of human history and pre-history, human or animal sacrifice play a surprisingly outsized role in religious and (therefore) social life. They have sharply differing views of the meaning of this phenomenon and of its contemporary significance for understanding the role of violence in human psychology. To disentangle this, we’ll have to talk about Bataille’s notions of intimacy, communication, tool-making, excess and uselessness on the one hand, and about Girard’s notions of mimetic desire and scapegoating on the other. I’ll try to sum up the salient points of both theories, and then ruminate a bit on the application of some of the takeaway points when applied to the microcosmic level of the human psyche, considered in Buddhist terms as a precarious society of highly heterogenous collections of disunified micro-drives and perspectives. With the combination of these theoretical perspectives, I’ll explore a naturalistic account of the phenomenology of human decision-making and agency on the model of the religious practice of scapegoating violence, and what implications that would have for considering human behavior from the Bataillean, Girardian and finally the Tiantai Buddhist perspective.
RSVP to tzdempse@usc.edu for preread and/or Zoom link
Brook A. Ziporyn is a scholar of ancient and medieval Chinese religion and philosophy. Professor Ziporyn received his BA in East Asian Languages and Civilizations from the University of Chicago, and his PhD from the University of Michigan. Prior to joining the Divinity School faculty, he has taught Chinese philosophy and religion at the University of Michigan (Department of East Asian Literature and Cultures), Northwestern University (Department of Religion and Department of Philosophy), Harvard University (Department of East Asian Literature and Civilization) and the National University of Singapore (Department of Philosophy).
This event is presented by the Conceptual Foundations of Conflict Project (CFCP). The mission of the CFCP is to encourage and promote work in and adjacent to philosophy that sheds light on the nature, sources, structure, dynamics, and consequences of interpersonal conflict, at all scales. If you would like to join our mailing list, please write to maschroe@usc.edu to let us know.
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