Vitalism: On the Tracks of Life

First published in 1907, Vitalism: On the Tracks of Life is a tour de force and one of the clearest expositions of vitalist thought ever written. Grounded in the work of Nietzsche, Stendhal and the author's own studies in anthropology, Séra brilliantly lays out his "principal thesis-the identification of aristocracy, physical superiority, and repugnance to work." With a frankness that is remarkable for its time, he spells out the role of the sexual impulse in society, the relation of work a...