Georges Bataille and the Mysticism of Sin
When Sartre referred to Georges Bataille as a "new mystic," he meant the label as an insult. Sartre considered mysticism to be a less rigorous mode of inquiry than philosophy—especially dangerous where the writings of mystics adapt philosophical terminology for different purposes. In Georges Bataille and the Mysticism of Sin, Peter Connor argues that literary scholars, eager to represent Bataille as a philosopher or as an early deconstructionist, have tended to neglect or misunderstand Bataille's interest in mysticism. Connor's study corrects this distorted view of Bataille, giving us a more complete picture of the complex and influential writer.

With careful attention to Bataille's historical and intellectual context, Connor raises many important questions: What drew Bataille to the mystics? How did he conceive of their thought in relation to his own? And what is the connection between mysticism and morality? This last question raises an especially interesting issue for Bataille, an atheist whom readers generally associate with images of transgression and sin. Through examination of Bataille's writings—including Inner Experience and his underappreciated final book, Tears of Eros—Connor shows the surprising connection between Bataille's mysticism and his sense of personal and political ethics. Mysticism, Connor argues, lies at the heart of Bataille's double identity as an intellectual and as a kind of anarchic prophet.

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Georges Bataille and the Mysticism of Sin
When Sartre referred to Georges Bataille as a "new mystic," he meant the label as an insult. Sartre considered mysticism to be a less rigorous mode of inquiry than philosophy—especially dangerous where the writings of mystics adapt philosophical terminology for different purposes. In Georges Bataille and the Mysticism of Sin, Peter Connor argues that literary scholars, eager to represent Bataille as a philosopher or as an early deconstructionist, have tended to neglect or misunderstand Bataille's interest in mysticism. Connor's study corrects this distorted view of Bataille, giving us a more complete picture of the complex and influential writer.

With careful attention to Bataille's historical and intellectual context, Connor raises many important questions: What drew Bataille to the mystics? How did he conceive of their thought in relation to his own? And what is the connection between mysticism and morality? This last question raises an especially interesting issue for Bataille, an atheist whom readers generally associate with images of transgression and sin. Through examination of Bataille's writings—including Inner Experience and his underappreciated final book, Tears of Eros—Connor shows the surprising connection between Bataille's mysticism and his sense of personal and political ethics. Mysticism, Connor argues, lies at the heart of Bataille's double identity as an intellectual and as a kind of anarchic prophet.

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Georges Bataille and the Mysticism of Sin

Georges Bataille and the Mysticism of Sin

by Peter Tracey Connor
Georges Bataille and the Mysticism of Sin

Georges Bataille and the Mysticism of Sin

by Peter Tracey Connor

Overview

When Sartre referred to Georges Bataille as a "new mystic," he meant the label as an insult. Sartre considered mysticism to be a less rigorous mode of inquiry than philosophy—especially dangerous where the writings of mystics adapt philosophical terminology for different purposes. In Georges Bataille and the Mysticism of Sin, Peter Connor argues that literary scholars, eager to represent Bataille as a philosopher or as an early deconstructionist, have tended to neglect or misunderstand Bataille's interest in mysticism. Connor's study corrects this distorted view of Bataille, giving us a more complete picture of the complex and influential writer.

With careful attention to Bataille's historical and intellectual context, Connor raises many important questions: What drew Bataille to the mystics? How did he conceive of their thought in relation to his own? And what is the connection between mysticism and morality? This last question raises an especially interesting issue for Bataille, an atheist whom readers generally associate with images of transgression and sin. Through examination of Bataille's writings—including Inner Experience and his underappreciated final book, Tears of Eros—Connor shows the surprising connection between Bataille's mysticism and his sense of personal and political ethics. Mysticism, Connor argues, lies at the heart of Bataille's double identity as an intellectual and as a kind of anarchic prophet.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780801877353
Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
Publication date: 10/29/2003
Edition description: Revised ed.
Pages: 208
Product dimensions: 6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range: 18 Years

About the Author

Peter Tracey Connor is an associate professor of French and comparative literature at Barnard College, Columbia University.

What People are Saying About This

Allan Stoekl

In its clarity of exposition, in its eloquence, and in its awareness of the larger sweep of literature and philosophy, Connor's book is clearly one of the best on Bataille. In its careful isolation of problems and extremely rigorous and systematic elaboration of themes, it is in a class by itself. It will be a standard reference on Bataille.

— Allan StoeklPennsylvania State University, author of Agonies of the Intellectual: Commitment, Subjectivity, and the Performative in the Twentieth-Century French Tradition

From the Publisher

In its clarity of exposition, in its eloquence, and in its awareness of the larger sweep of literature and philosophy, Connor's book is clearly one of the best on Bataille. In its careful isolation of problems and extremely rigorous and systematic elaboration of themes, it is in a class by itself. It will be a standard reference on Bataille.
—Allan StoeklPennsylvania State University, author of Agonies of the Intellectual: Commitment, Subjectivity, and the Performative in the Twentieth-Century French Tradition

Allan StoeklPennsylvania State University

In its clarity of exposition, in its eloquence, and in its awareness of the larger sweep of literature and philosophy, Connor's book is clearly one of the best on Bataille. In its careful isolation of problems and extremely rigorous and systematic elaboration of themes, it is in a class by itself. It will be a standard reference on Bataille.

— Allan StoeklPennsylvania State University, author of Agonies of the Intellectual: Commitment, Subjectivity, and the Performative in the Twentieth-Century French Tradition

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