René Girard x David Deutsch
A conversation with Micah Redding and Max Schultz
Substack is amazing. Both Girard and Deutsch are niche interests. Where else can you find people at the intersection of both thinkers?
There were some ideas here which I have yet to explore in writing, so I’m posting summaries of my thoughts and their timestamps below to both prompt my future self and to invite you, dear reader, in this ongoing conversation.
Raise the roof: uncover the lie behind the guilt of the scapegoat and begin infinity
[2:29 – 4:19] Entry into Girard & Deutsch
→ First encountered Girard via
[7:30 – 9:53] Sacrifice & Theology
→ Identifies two Girardian camps: early Girard distinguished archaic vs. Christ’s sacrifice; later softened; finds David Bentley Hart’s critique (in The Beauty of the Infinite) most convincing.
[15:52 – 20:46] Progress in Philippine History
→ Uses Magellan’s 1521 Cebu encounter to argue Christianization ended ritual sacrifice and slavery, marking undeniable progress; notes postcolonial nationalism scapegoats the West, obscuring this.
[30:05 – 33:56] Human Nature vs. Culture
→ Argues scapegoating instinct is deep in human nature (possibly genetic) but Christianity and culture “neutralize” it; cultural memes and institutions transmit restraint across generations.
[36:22 – 38:08] Static vs. Dynamic Societies
→ Deutsch saw static societies as survival strategies; Girard added that even those were progress over chaos; real breakthrough came when truth was prioritized over mere survival and power games.
[41:36 – 43:29] Story vs. Explanation
→ Contends that progress (end of sacrifice/slavery) came through the story of Christ, not abstract reasoning; stories defeat scapegoat myths more effectively than explanations.
[53:21 – 54:22] Nation-States as Interim Solution
→ Says nation-states currently monopolize violence, reducing local bloodshed but escalating global war risks; sees them as an experiment, not the final solution.
[1:01:53 – 1:03:26] Conversion & Individual Progress
→ Optimistic at personal scale: true progress comes via individual conversion—seeing innocence, rejecting scapegoating, seeking truth, and becoming “dynamic” persons.
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