Girard e la violenza necessaria. Considerazioni sul capro espiatorio

In this article I aim to present some considerations regarding an element which, in the context of Girardian reflection inherent to the relationship between violence and the sacred, occupies a central place. I am referring to the figure of the scapegoat which, together with the notions of mimicry and sacrificial crisis, contributes to building an image of the world and to providing an interpretation, whether convincing or not, we will try to determine in the conclusions, of the nature of intersubjective relations and of the estate itself. of public institutions. The starting point of this brief Girardian itinerary is necessarily placed, and could not be otherwise, in the horizon of meaning developed by tragic mythology. Girardian symbolic analysis, in fact, - at least this is the impression obtained by comparing with the texts - draws liberally from the tragic plot, transforming it into a real paradigm. And this aspect constitutes a key to understanding but, in certain respects, it is also part of the problem inherent to the internal coherence of the interpretative model adopted by Girard. From these brief premises, it is possible to deduce that the approach I intend to favor is a critical, or so to speak, moderately skeptical approach towards Girardian theses. I will first focus on the description of the tragic hero, trying to outline the path and stages that determine his slow transformation into an scapegoat. Understanding the nature of this transition is essential to reflection on the original, ambiguous but deeply rooted nature of violence. Once the profile of the scapegoat victim has been defined, I will advance some considerations regarding the validity of the paradigm, focusing on what, in my opinion, can be considered as limits of the Girardian interpretative approach.