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Date Posted: 13:32:12 03/06/08 Thu
Author: Caitlin
Subject: How Unconsious is it REALLY?

While studying for the midterm this past weekend, I brought up the question of just how unconscious does the mass really have to be in order for the sacrificial mechanism to work. Girard repeatedly emphasizes the importance of an unconscious mass, but I have my doubts. I ask, what does Girard mean by "unconscious"?

There are actually many ways that individuals in a group could be conscious of the mechanism, conscious of what they are doing, and yet the sacrificial mechanism could still work. Each individual in the group is needed to comply with the idea of all vs. one. They create a mass which has to be in complete agreement. Alright, fine. However, I keep thinking of passive agreement.

Let's say that I am part of this group whole that is in the midst of enacting the sacrificial mechanism. I am CONSCIOUS of what is going on, how we are scapegoating a single surrogate victim for the community, but I do not voice my opinion for any number of reasons (fear, intimidation, apathy, etc). This is a form of passive agreement. Now, any number of other individuals could be CONSCIOUS of the mechanism, but similar to me, no one speaks out. Therefore the mechanism continues to work, even though many in the group are CONSCIOUS of what is going on.

Could Girard's UNCONSCIOUS group be reduced to a simple form of massive passivity? A consciousness of the mechanism but an unwillingness to step forward and speak out about it (most likely causing your own victimization)?

My thinking is that perhaps the group does not have to be completely unconscious of the sacrificial mechanism as much as there must be a compliance with it.

Any thoughts?

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