The philosophy and theology of Renรฉ Girard

Police and anti-immigration protestors clash at Cronulla, Sydney, in December 2005 The French philosopher Renรฉ Girard (1923โ€“2015)ย is perhaps best known for his work on the relationship between desire, violence, and religion in modern thought. Trained as a literary critic yet ranging widely across anthropology and theology, he developed a unified vision of human behaviour that …

The problem with patriotism

Since the dramatic election result in South Australia last weekend, readers of news media, not least the Murdoch press, will have noticed a renewed emphasis on โ€œpatriotism.โ€ Former Liberal Party Opposition Leader Alexander Downer was even moved to write an opinion piece provocatively headlined, โ€œLiberals have forgotten patriotism. Now One Nation owns it.โ€[1] What is …