Georges Bataille (1897-1962)

Arya, Rina

Abstract

Georges Bataille was a French cultural theorist and philosopher who wrote widely in a number of fields that included anthropology, sociology, art, economics, erotic literature and religion. Bataille{\textquoteright}s influences were many and disparate, and included the anthropological studies of Emile Durkheim and Marcel Mauss; the writings of mystics such as St. John of the Cross; the works of various philosophers including Hegel and Nietzsche; and the psychoanalytic work of Freud. This chapter analyses the main ideas in Bataille{\textquoteright}s thought by considering his influences, affiliations and theoretical formulations. One of Bataille{\textquoteright}s central contributions to a-theological thinking is the centrality of the sacred in modern life. Written in the 1940s and published posthumously, Theory of Religion provides an important account of Bataille{\textquoteright}s account of the sacred. Bataille was involved in a number of fringe left-wing political and cultural organizations. Bataille extrapolates from concepts in Alexandre Kojeve{\textquoteright}s interpretation of Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, but puts those concepts to radically different ends.

Citation

Arya, R. (2017). Georges Bataille (1897-1962). In P. {Goodchild }, & H. {Phelps } (Eds.), Religion and European Philosophy (222--234). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315642253-20

• Publication Date: 2017-02
• Deposit Date: Apr 23, 2024
• Pages: 222--234
• Edition: 1st
• Book Title: Religion and European Philosophy
• ISBN: 9781138188525
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315642253-20
• Keywords: Georges Bataille, French cultural theorist, Philosopher
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/4629589