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| René Girard, French Theorist of the Social Sciences, Dies at 91 | René Girard, French Theorist of the Social Sciences, Dies at 91 |
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| René Girard, whose explorations of literature and myth helped establish influential theories about how people are motivated to want things, died on Nov. 4 at his home in Stanford, Calif. He was 91. | René Girard, whose explorations of literature and myth helped establish influential theories about how people are motivated to want things, died on Nov. 4 at his home in Stanford, Calif. He was 91. |
| Martha Girard, his wife of 64 years, confirmed his death. | Martha Girard, his wife of 64 years, confirmed his death. |
| Professor Girard, who was born in France, had lived and taught in the United States since 1950 but continued to write in French, amassing close to 30 works of analysis, essays and interviews. Writers like Karen Armstrong, Simon Schama and J. M. Coetzee have cited his work, and Peter Thiel, a founder of PayPal, the digital payment company, credits Professor Girard with inspiring him to switch careers and become an early, and well-rewarded, investor in Facebook. | |
| Professor Girard’s central idea was that human motivation is based on desire. People are free, he believed, but seek things in life based on what other people want. Their imitation of those desires, which he termed mimesis, is imitated by others in turn, leading to escalating and often destructive competition. | Professor Girard’s central idea was that human motivation is based on desire. People are free, he believed, but seek things in life based on what other people want. Their imitation of those desires, which he termed mimesis, is imitated by others in turn, leading to escalating and often destructive competition. |
| His first work, published in French in 1961 and in English in 1965 as “Deceit, Desire, and the Novel,” explained the idea of mimesis through readings of classic novels. Over time, the idea has been used to explain financial bubbles, where things of little intrinsic value are increasingly bid up in the hope of financial gain. It has also been cited to explain why people unsatisfied by high-status jobs pursue them anyway. | |
| Professor Girard expanded his theory through the study of myths, looking at the ways groups of people often create scapegoats — tormenting and sacrificing them — as a means to establish unity. Published in French in 1972 and in English in 1977 as “Violence and the Sacred,” the book argued that a scapegoat’s death can foster social order. | Professor Girard expanded his theory through the study of myths, looking at the ways groups of people often create scapegoats — tormenting and sacrificing them — as a means to establish unity. Published in French in 1972 and in English in 1977 as “Violence and the Sacred,” the book argued that a scapegoat’s death can foster social order. |
| In the myth of Oedipus, he argued, accusations against him of parricide and then incest with his mother united his enemies in Thebes. In death, such characters become the center of rituals that ease social tensions by recalling that collective, unifying behavior. | In the myth of Oedipus, he argued, accusations against him of parricide and then incest with his mother united his enemies in Thebes. In death, such characters become the center of rituals that ease social tensions by recalling that collective, unifying behavior. |
| Professor Girard was making points about contemporary society as well, said Cynthia Haven, the author of a coming biography of him. | Professor Girard was making points about contemporary society as well, said Cynthia Haven, the author of a coming biography of him. |
| “We’re all competitive, and we all fall into relationships where our idol becomes a rival and an obstacle,” she said. “We fall into patterns of scapegoating, even when the tool is calumny, not a cudgel. Just look at Twitter, or presidential campaigns: We often act in mobs.” | “We’re all competitive, and we all fall into relationships where our idol becomes a rival and an obstacle,” she said. “We fall into patterns of scapegoating, even when the tool is calumny, not a cudgel. Just look at Twitter, or presidential campaigns: We often act in mobs.” |
| Mr. Thiel, of PayPal, said that he was a student at Stanford when he first encountered Professor Girard’s work, and that it later inspired him to quit an unfulfilling law career in New York and go to Silicon Valley. | Mr. Thiel, of PayPal, said that he was a student at Stanford when he first encountered Professor Girard’s work, and that it later inspired him to quit an unfulfilling law career in New York and go to Silicon Valley. |
| He gave Facebook its first $100,000 investment, he said, because he saw Professor Girard’s theories being validated in the concept of social media. | He gave Facebook its first $100,000 investment, he said, because he saw Professor Girard’s theories being validated in the concept of social media. |
| “Facebook first spread by word of mouth, and it’s about word of mouth, so it’s doubly mimetic,” he said. “Social media proved to be more important than it looked, because it’s about our natures.” | “Facebook first spread by word of mouth, and it’s about word of mouth, so it’s doubly mimetic,” he said. “Social media proved to be more important than it looked, because it’s about our natures.” |
| The investment made Mr. Thiel a billionaire. | The investment made Mr. Thiel a billionaire. |
| René Girard was born in Avignon, France, on Dec. 25, 1923. His father was a librarian and archivist, and his mother was a homemaker. | René Girard was born in Avignon, France, on Dec. 25, 1923. His father was a librarian and archivist, and his mother was a homemaker. |
| He obtained an advanced degree in Medieval studies at the École Nationale des Chartes in 1947. On a lark he took a position in the French department at Indiana University, where he met his wife, a student in one of his classes. | He obtained an advanced degree in Medieval studies at the École Nationale des Chartes in 1947. On a lark he took a position in the French department at Indiana University, where he met his wife, a student in one of his classes. |
| He earned a Ph.D. in history from Indiana in 1950 but continued to teach language and literature. Before going to Stanford in 1981, Professor Girard also taught at Duke, Bryn Mawr, Johns Hopkins and what is now the State University at Buffalo. He retired in 1995 but continued to write. | He earned a Ph.D. in history from Indiana in 1950 but continued to teach language and literature. Before going to Stanford in 1981, Professor Girard also taught at Duke, Bryn Mawr, Johns Hopkins and what is now the State University at Buffalo. He retired in 1995 but continued to write. |
| A nonpracticing Roman Catholic, Professor Girard underwent a religious awakening after a cancer scare in 1959, while working on the conclusion of his first book. | A nonpracticing Roman Catholic, Professor Girard underwent a religious awakening after a cancer scare in 1959, while working on the conclusion of his first book. |
| “I was thrown for a loop, because I was proud of being a skeptic,” he later said. “It was very hard for me to imagine myself going to church, praying and so on. I was all puffed up, full of what the old catechisms used to call ‘human respect.’ ” | |
| The Christian influence on his work was most apparent in “Things Hidden Since the Foundation of the World,” written in 1978 and published in English in 1987. In that book he said Christianity was the only religion that had examined scapegoating and sacrifice from the victim’s point of view. | The Christian influence on his work was most apparent in “Things Hidden Since the Foundation of the World,” written in 1978 and published in English in 1987. In that book he said Christianity was the only religion that had examined scapegoating and sacrifice from the victim’s point of view. |
| His final work, published in 2007, posited that the mimetic competition among nations would lead to an apocalyptic confrontation unless nations could learn to renounce retaliation. | His final work, published in 2007, posited that the mimetic competition among nations would lead to an apocalyptic confrontation unless nations could learn to renounce retaliation. |
| That forthright religious stance may have cost him status in university circles, said Robert Pogue Harrison, a professor of literature at Stanford. “No doubt it was an obstacle,” he said. “He believed in Christian truth, which isn’t going to find ready acceptance in contemporary academia.” | That forthright religious stance may have cost him status in university circles, said Robert Pogue Harrison, a professor of literature at Stanford. “No doubt it was an obstacle,” he said. “He believed in Christian truth, which isn’t going to find ready acceptance in contemporary academia.” |
| Much recognition came to Professor Girard late in life. He was elected to the Académie Française in 2005 and received a lifetime achievement award from the Modern Language Association in 2009. In 2013 he received the Order of Isabella the Catholic from the king of Spain for his work in philosophy and anthropology. | Much recognition came to Professor Girard late in life. He was elected to the Académie Française in 2005 and received a lifetime achievement award from the Modern Language Association in 2009. In 2013 he received the Order of Isabella the Catholic from the king of Spain for his work in philosophy and anthropology. |
| In addition to his wife, Professor Girard is survived by two sons, Martin and Daniel; a daughter, Mary Girard Brown; and nine grandchildren. | In addition to his wife, Professor Girard is survived by two sons, Martin and Daniel; a daughter, Mary Girard Brown; and nine grandchildren. |