Divyadaan: Journal of Philosophy and Education

Here, we propose, via Jung, a methodological shift in Sociology of Religion (SoR). We seek an invariant non-reductionist method in SoR regarding the depths of religious experience. We hypothesise that, encouraged by Taylor's characterisation of secularisation, taking the authentic subjectivity (in the Lonerganian sense) of the sociological investigator of religion as starting-point, and the consultational recommendation of Wheeldon as the interaction paradigm, we would have a prototypical methodological toolbox for a non-condescending approach in SoR. The proposed approach evades the trap of overarching narratives, while retaining commitment to scientific rigour, without discarding the existing theoretical heritage of SoR.

This essay traces Girard's intellectual journey and shows how his central insight-that human desire is fundamentally imitative-not only shapes personal identity but also leads to rivalry and conflict. It begins by explaining the triangular structure of desire through the relation between subject, object, and model, and develops Girard's distinctions between external and internal mediation, mimetic rivalry, contagion, and metaphysical desire. It further demonstrates the relevance of mimetic theory to consumer culture, social media and political polarization. Finally, the article offers a critical appraisal, highlighting both the interpretive power of Girard's framework and its limits, especially its tendency toward universalization and reductionism.

John Wippel, a Thomistic interpreter of the Gilsonian version of Existential Thomism states that the metaphysical thought of Thomas Aquinas has been a singular effort of the discovery of being as real or as existing which in turn makes it easier for us to understand being as being or ens commune. This task is processed through the intellect9s two operations, viz., its first operation, i.e., simple apprehension wherein we come to the knowledge of 8the essential nature of something9 or 8of what things are9 and its second operation called judgement. Further, it is only through a special kind of judgement known as separatio that we come to discover being as being or ens commune or being in general as Thomas Aquinas calls it.