num_pages: 296
description: Burkert, Girard, and Smith hold important and contradictory theories about the nature and origin of ritual sacrifice, and the role violence plays in religion and culture. These papers and conversations derive from a conference that pursued the possibility and utility of a general theory of religion and culture, especially one based on violence. The special value of this volume is the conversations as such -- the real record of working scholars engaged with one another's theories, as they make and meet challenges, and move and maneuver.
language: English
title: Violent Origins: Walter Burkert, René Girard, and Jonathan Z. Smith on Ritual Killing and Cultural Formation
titlecomplete: Violent Origins: Walter Burkert, René Girard, and Jonathan Z. Smith on Ritual Killing and Cultural Formation
genres: History, Psychology, Anthropology, Philosophy, Religion
ratings_count: 48
publisher: Stanford University Press