In The Sacred Monstrous author Wendy Hamblet traces the historical and social fact of violence through the work of Girard, Bloch, Lorenz and Burket. She takes up the charge advanced by social theorists, anthropologists and others that violence is steeped in our being; it pervades our generations and is imbedded in the ethos of our modern institutions. Hamblet's discussion of human history re-frames our understanding of how violence works in history and society. The Sacred Monstrous is a salient work of continentally informed philosophy that contributes significantly to any discussion of violence and conflict in the social sciences.
Wedding an analysis of relevant anthropological literature and philosophical theory, this book seeks to reposition violence as a central concern for ethical thought.
Chapter 1 Preface: apologia Chapter 2 Ritual and Mythical Beginnings Chapter 3 Ritual In-form-ations: the anthropologists' theories Chapter 4 Resonances in Ritual Theory Chapter 5 Mythical Traces of the Legacy of Violence: under the shadow of the "fall" Chapter 6 Home-Craft in the History of Philosophy: "innocent egoist and alone" Chapter 7 The Ambiguities of Home: "a phenomenology of identity-construction" Chapter 8 Violence as Community: the suffocating embrace of the home Chapter 9 Superstructures of Identity Chapter 10 In the Wake of Violent Rituals