Search  for anything...
Stanford University Press

Things Hidden Since the Foundation of the World

    • Based on 160 reviews
Condition: New
Checking for product changes
$28.14 Why this price?
New Year Deal · 20% off was $35.00

Buy Now, Pay Later

As low as $7 / mo
  • – 4-month term
  • – No impact on credit
  • – Instant approval decision
  • – Secure and straightforward checkout

Ready to go? Add this product to your cart and select a plan during checkout. Payment plans are offered through our trusted finance partners Klarna, PayTomorrow, Affirm, Afterpay, Apple Pay, and PayPal. No-credit-needed leasing options through Acima may also be available at checkout.

Learn more about financing & leasing here.

Free shipping on this product

This item is eligible for return within 30 days of receipt

To qualify for a full refund, items must be returned in their original, unused condition. If an item is returned in a used, damaged, or materially different state, you may be granted a partial refund.

To initiate a return, please visit our Returns Center.

View our full returns policy here.

Availability: In Stock.
Fulfilled by Amazon
Arrives Monday, Jan 20
Order within 23 hours and 13 minutes
Available payment plans shown during checkout

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Stanford University Press; 1st edition (June 1, 1987)


Language ‏ : ‎ English


Paperback ‏ : ‎ 470 pages


ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0804722153


ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 55


Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.44 pounds


Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 1.2 x 9 inches


Best Sellers Rank: #40,578 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #2 in Literary Theory #171 in Literary Criticism & Theory #815 in Contemporary Literature & Fiction


#2 in Literary Theory:


#171 in Literary Criticism & Theory:


Frequently asked questions

If you place your order now, the estimated arrival date for this product is: Monday, Jan 20

Yes, absolutely! You may return this product for a full refund within 30 days of receiving it.

To initiate a return, please visit our Returns Center.

View our full returns policy here.

  • Klarna Financing
  • Affirm Pay in 4
  • Affirm Financing
  • Afterpay Financing
  • PayTomorrow Financing
  • Financing through Apple Pay
Leasing options through Acima may also be available during checkout.

Learn more about financing & leasing here.

Similar Products

Top Amazon Reviews

    • Masterpiece
This is Girards masterpiece. Ignore the negative reviews and read the book on your own. I find it hard to believe that people can’t follow the introduced topics, this is normal for philosophy. The recommendation of this book by Peter Thiel has brought a lot of people to it which is a good thing but those who complain they don’t understand it seem to be expecting it to read like your average fluff management book. Please, this man is an intellectual and his ideas are revolutionary. The disciplines have a habit of attacking anyone who crosses disciplinary lines into interdisciplinary thought and this is no surprise at all. Read it for yourself and be open minded. Girard is not just a historian, not just a literary critic, and not just a philosopher. More than any other book in this century that I’ve read, this has been the most life changing. I found the theories practical (shown in the secondary literature) and life affirming. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on February 3, 2019 by Burke
    • If you are a philosophy student ......May be Yes
Abstract to the hilt concepts.....Of course, based on the old and the new testament....very very difficult read....Simple concepts complicated as to make sure people with masters in business would not comprehend. Concepts are not that unique.....but the roundabout way discussion ensues is maddening. Investment in Enron seems more appealing.. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on December 29, 2018 by Short and Sweet
    • A fascinating book
A fascinating book that does indeed deliver on the promises of its editors and advocates; it intentionally crosses (and often blurs) the line between several fields of study, including anthropology, archaeology, Judeo-Christian studies, sociology, Freudian- psychology, Jungian-psychology (particularly the archetypal theory & the theory of the collective unconsciousness) along with metaphysics and modern day political science. Does the book make a good argument for its thesis? It does. Does it make a convincing argument for its thesis? Maybe. One shortcoming of the book is that while religion underpins much of the discussion, it’s clear that the work is solely focused (perhaps consciously) on Christianity. Certainly the author does not claim to be a Buddhist or a Muslim, but it’s a tough-sell, to try and convince someone of universal patterns in religions and societies when the person talking is mostly educated on the Christian tradition. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on February 13, 2022 by TC
    • we are still savages who lack self awareness
Explains why democrats want trumps blood, oh lamb of god who takrst away sins of the world, before lambs head is axed off
Reviewed in the United States on May 19, 2020 by Gauhri
    • Key work by one of the 20th century's major thinkers
This remains the most comprehensive and profound statement of Girard's work, which initiated an interdisciplinary paradigm that has come to be known as mimetic theory and which is equally transformative and liberating at a personal, practical level. For more on mimetic theory and Girard's ongoing legacy, see the work of the scholars and practitioners who gather as the Colloquium on Violence and Religion and its affiliated organizations. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on February 2, 2021 by Curtis Gruenler
    • Difficult
Loved the title of this book. But it is so dense and abstract. I couldn't really get any traction at all with it. I recommend this only to professors of Philosophy.
Reviewed in the United States on February 8, 2021 by michael clawson
    • A profound and meaingful book
A deep and thick book in terms of content. It is not for everyone. Girard points out the patterns in the formation of all cultures, how religion and mythology interconnect and how primitive religion changed with the Jewish/Christian era. Finally one sees that all those patterns are still going on today. It was very thought provoking! ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on December 13, 2014 by Ada Casazza
    • Mimeticism: a reductionism I keep trying not to choke on but Gerard seems on to something worth reading.
Things Hidden Since the Foundation of the World by Rene Girard will remain hidden after reading the entire book. This is my second Girard book and I have ordered 2 others because he most certainly has very interesting things to say that I would not want to miss but he is at the same time so entrenched in the absurd reduction of all human behavior into one category that I often feel like a total idiotic mimetic continuing to read. His lens is what he calls mimeticism by which he seems to mean as I understand it a near total or total lack of individuation, being incapable of thinking outside of the box, being incapable of really seeing, and becoming in effect "Mass Man". At it's lowest level it seems to amount to "monkey see, monkey do". He never once though mentions the word individual or individuation. The scapegoater and scapegoat is central to his thesis and who or what after all is the scapegoater if not the denier of what the scapegoater himself is actually doing. The scapegoater therefore is the unconscious man incapable of seeing himself and/or other. There is something powerful true about what the author is writing about and for that reason it is worth reading Gerard but his category, mimeticism is like a lens through which he sees only the mimetic and never reaches into a deeper level like he got stuck there and cannot proceed. On everything he puts the same suit of clothes. He does, despite this fault see much of great interest and will continue to read Gerard to try to discern what seems to be missing. There is of course the introject which is integral to mimeticism but introjection could not cover all the territory Gerard is cover with mimeticism so in reading I have to try to keep from choking on the reductionist word he uses ad infinitum - mimeticism (choke, choke, choking )-:))))))))= I do though find his writing very interesting. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on June 20, 2016 by chezlouise

Can't find a product?

Find it on Amazon first, then paste the link below.