Pilgrim Way Salon: Desire, Rivalry, and the Hidden Logic of Human Violence—Engaging the work of René Girard

Pilgrim Way Salons
6:30p–9pm | Drinks & Appetizers to Start

Suggested donation: $10

What makes a life worth living? What does it mean to seek what is good, beautiful, and true?

Once a month, we gather around these questions—not to debate, but to dwell. Our Pilgrim Way Salons are curated evenings of conversation, hospitality, and reflection hosted in a welcoming space, with drinks and light fare to begin.

"What’s a salon?"
It’s not just a haircut—or a fancy term. Historically, salons were intimate gatherings in homes where people explored big ideas through civil, spirited conversation. That’s what we’re reclaiming.

Each evening features a guest speaker or expert voice, followed by guided dialogue and generous Q&A. Whether you’re skeptical, spiritual, curious, or convicted, come pull up a chair. There’s room at the table.
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Salon: Desire, Rivalry, and the Hidden Logic of Human Violence—Engaging the work of René Girard

with Caleb Maskell, PhD Princeton University

We live in an age of unprecedented connection and unprecedented conflict. Political enemies, culture wars, social media crescendos—we seem hardwired to divide into sides and find someone to blame. But what if that's not a bug in human nature? What if it's the operating system?

French philosopher and Stamford literature professor René Girard spent fifty years developing one of the most unsettling and clarifying ideas of the 20th century: that human desire is fundamentally imitative, rivalry is its inevitable shadow, and scapegoating is how every human community—from families to nations—holds itself together. Temporarily. 

Join us at a Pilgrim Way salon for an evening of good food, honest conversation, and genuinely big questions. We'll dig into Girard's thought and ask what it reveals about how we live, what we want, and explore the question: is there a way out of the rivalry cycle?

To best prepare for this conversation, familiarize yourself with the key concepts in Girard's work:
Bare Minimum: "Why We Want What We Want" (58 minute podcast interview): https://entitled-opinions.com/2005/09/16/rene-girard-why-we-want-what-we-want/
Ideal: "Things Hidden: The Life and Legacy of René Girard" (90 minute documentary): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-vB1HaBsog
Deep Dive: "The Scapegoat: René Girard's Anthropology of Violence and Religion" (5 part interview with David Cayley): https://www.davidcayley.com/podcasts/tag/Ren%C3%A9+Girard