René Girard’s Hypothetico-Inductive Method. An Atheistic Demonstration of God’s Existence

Abstract

This paper explains French anthropologist René Girard’s notion of ‘science’, as it appears in his works. This idea of science is understood as a mainly inductive research method in which the central concept of ‘hypothesis’ does not refer to an attempt to solve a given problem. Instead, it is the very conclusion of an intellectual research process that, in Girard’s case, has to do with humankind. Girard’s project aims to build a really scientific-evolutionary Anthropology, which does not suppress human specificities. Rather, these specific human traits need to be radically understood in the context of biological animal life, without taking into account a priori philosophical or similar approaches. The idea around which Girard’s research revolves is ‘mimesis’, which is an element that, in turn, due to its very nature and evolution, is linked to ‘desire’ and ‘sacrifice’. However, paradoxically, Girard will end up stating that his ‘hypothesis’ reveals that creating a scientific reading of the field of Religious Studies is the proper way to interpret Anthropology and, in the end, even Metaphysics. In sum, Girard’s ‘hypothesis’ proposes a theory of religion as a sort of “Fundamental Science” and as a reference for all other human disciplines. Such a Fundamental Science is also called Mimetic Theory and its clearly critical and apophatic character is only lessened by the positive contribution of the revelation of the biblical God in the Judaeo-Christian culture’s rites and myths.