Georges Bataille - Sacrifice, the Accursed Share and the Gnosticism of Base Materialism

[@TheEsotericaChannel]

Make Sure to Subscribe & Consider supporting Esoterica by becoming a monthly Patron - www.patreon.com/esotericachannel or a one time donation - www.paypal.me/esotericachannel Your support is profoundly appreciated!

[@sethen132]

Andrew Jackson was a necromancer, if you look into some of his memoirs he speaks openly about a coming age of chaos and defends necromancy lol. Completely unrelated: I think a satirist by the name Karl Kraus was so good he may have had some occult influence. Gurdijeff as well.

[@LonaPua_Pouliuli-Popoki]

🤙Aloha Dr. Sledge mahalo I have only poetry to contribute Does sacrifice displace the power of the opposed? or in the hands of artists - Create the sacred throes Do sacraments place all of us together in "God's Hand"? or proclaim our differences and mutated stands Does one's festivals, or life's waltz - ever culminate? And is art in ovo, with chum - death lures with bliss bait?

[@LonaPua_Pouliuli-Popoki]

@@phillipstroll7385 kzbin.info/www/bejne/mGnMn2WYabyYqpY kzbin.info/www/bejne/pIe1hpKHqNt5jq8 These sites inspire me FYI

[@fighttheevilrobots3417]

My partner, a black metal musician, has done a lot of research on Bataille and introduced me to his philosophy, especially that of the "limit experience". I'm the daughter of a Kabbalist. (Indeed my family has been Jewish mystics for at least 500 years). We love your channel Dr. Sledge and often watch your videos together, finding them a blend of our own backgrounds.

[@TheHammerofDissidence]

Bataille is, unsurprisingly, pretty well known in the black metal realm. Deathspell Omega in particular takes Bataille's philosophy seriously and it reflects in both their sound and lyrics.

[@wendybourgeois8884]

My husband-huge Black Metal fan-loves Batialle, and lucky me, his sense of the value of sacrifice makes him a great husband.

[@ShinraXSoldier]

DSO introduced me

[@richardallen7959]

Tell me more about Jewish mysticism, I'm interested.

[@obscuredictionary3263]

@@richardallen7959 This channel has tons of videos on that very subject

[@ErinWi]

My favorite Bataille story is when he and some of his more adventurous intellectual fellow travelers started an occult group based around the (kinda sorta) historical demon Akephalos ("Headless One"). The were obsessed with the idea of human sacrifice, specifically by beheading. As the story goes, every member of the group, including Bataille, volunteered to be the sacrifice, but sadly no one would volunteer to be the one to do the beheading. And so they had to dissolve the group.

[@najahrizvi2920]

There is no concrete evidence of whether this is truth or fiction or a joke which later became a legend

[@ErinWi]

@@najahrizvi2920 that's fine. I did say it was my favorite story.

[@najahrizvi2920]

​@@ErinWi stories can be true and they can also be fictional? well I just heard lots of people try and share this one as a truth "they read somewhere"

[@sillycuts]

@@najahrizvi2920possibly a joke as the headless figure is about a decentered headless if you like self organising community

[@darkdagon6]

A funny metaphor instead

[@guapelea]

In the prologue of "L'Erotisme" Georges Bataille writes: "I have devoted myself more than anything else to the possibility of finding again, in a general perspective, the image that obsessed me during my adolescence: that of God" There is no doubt that he does it in his own way, but I think that this statement of his should be taken into careful account.

[@Dpiiiius]

Yeah he was undeniably “spiritual” in his view and pursuits, albeit with a radically apophatic and immanent metaphysics

[@vauchomarx6733]

It's not easy to find a summary of Bataille on this platform, especially such a good summary! I became interested in him through (the early) Nick Land. Now it seems to make much more sense how Land came from a hardline materialist viewpoint, but then also became interested in magickal traditions…

[@willpritchard8121]

A video on Antonin Artaud would be fascinating. Artaud and the Gnostic Drama is a great text on the gnostic current running through his oeuvre.

[@Dpiiiius]

Scarlet Imprint

[@paulbishop6357]

This summarizes ideas I've had on these topics for years. . . Then it clarifies much more. And I've been ignorant of this philosopher for so long. This could change my life. You have given me rain in a drought -- THANK YOU!!!

[@ohsweetpotato]

ive just finished reading the accursed share, and i’m rewatching this video to further digest what i had just read. your videos really do remind me of doing my reading assignment and then attending lecture! i’m very happy that you’re able to provide this content for free. thank you so much for your hard work prof🫡

[@wcropp1]

I found myself trying to figure out Bataille's ideas after reading "Story of the Eye." It was recommended by others, and made for...intriguing reading. I didn't love it or hate it, just found myself wondering what exactly he was driving at. Reading up on some of his other ideas, it made more sense, but Bataille is a tricky one to wrap your head around. He is a bit of a maverick in the philosophical canon. His influence was definitely there in a lot of the post-structuralists, along with Heidegger. A lot of people that have trouble making sense out of Derrida and Foucault would probably benefit from reading some Bataille, Heidegger, etc. Thanks for the video!

[@miskatonic6576]

I also found this to be an interesting read. Can't say that I loved it but it does leave an impression....one that gnaws at the back of your brain.

[@heloiseschumacher]

excellent analysis! Bataille's one of my favorite writers ever. his philosophy is both gorgeous and chilling, totally absorbing

[@TheEsotericaChannel]

Totally agree

[@futureshocked]

...Holy hell, I read a little of The Story of the Eye in College but I didn't realize how much me and George Bataille had come to the same conclusion metaphysically. I think it's why Kink has taken off so much among millenials and zoomers. We're all dealing with how dark the current world is (and potentially just humanity in general) and that is absolutely intertwined with sexuality. And 100% Clive Barker has so much to say about the current world that he was trying to say via Hellraiser. It's wild how Barker looped the really dark aspects gay BDSM at the time with a hedonism themed cosmology.

[@Ricca_Day]

So at your recommendation, I just watched the interview with Monsieur Bataille. It was intriguing to say the least. His assertion that it is childish to engage with literature and eroticism, but an inevitable compulsion of our innate curiosity to explore beyond our own experiential understanding until there are Dire Consequences for our behavior is quite fascinating. It smacks of mischievous truths.. but the consequences reign in the majority of the explorer’s tendencies for the majority of the folks in the world, for which I am personally quite thankful. I know that the shadows dance across from the flames in a most alluring fashion.. but they give no hint of the Pain offered up by the Source of their projection, much like the Moon, who gives Her Light in reflection of the Sun.. within the Shadow of the night or day, without intimating the Heat from The One to whom she may attribute her own glory. Thanks for expanding the horizons for my mind, Dr. Sledge. Yours is a truly fascinating Exploration of Esoterica. Blessings!

[@guapelea]

The risk that Bataille speaks of in the interview, perceived in a childish way, is the risk of incurring the disapproval of the family, the clan, the group or the tribe, which is possibly the greatest risk that a human being can face. Greater, in my opinion, than that of exploring the North Pole, for example.

[@evans808274mc9la]

I think esoterica needs a French philosophy series!

[@TheEsotericaChannel]

Sounds like re-living the trauma of grad school ;)

[@evans808274mc9la]

@@TheEsotericaChannel ha. You loved it I'm sure.....

[@Raulduke419]

Deleuze would make a hell of an episode

[@petemander1777]

Thanks for this, I've not heard of this man before, always learning from this channel

[@wilkiebunkers1352]

Excellent content. Thank you for exploring these ideas and people.

[@TheInundation]

Always cool when you go into some of the Postmodernist Continentals. Do more things like this, and Deleuze

[@d59j92vd6]

A video on Deleuze would really Be interesting.

[@TheEsotericaChannel]

Mayhaps !

[@oaxacachaka]

I have wondered if “post structuralists” or whatever you want to call them could provide an intellectual framework for revisiting some of our abandoned esoteric beliefs, maybe as a kind of intellectual shield to ward of criticism if taken on their own terms. Just thinking of backdoors into the modern intellectual milieu for ideas that seem desperately needed.

[@oaxacachaka]

@@shruik58 I think so as well. Jung too, although he’s somewhat gone out of fashion.

[@moch.farisdzulfiqar6123]

Yes, with Deleuze-Guattari we can back to Spinoza from Nietzsche.

[@mescalito]

Je ne connaissais Bataille que par ouïe dire, par des citations ,des références, et c'est finalement grâce à vous (et en anglais !) que j'en apprends , enfin, plus sur son œuvre ! Merci - également félicitations, plus globales, pour votre travail...

[@AlkibiadesKleiniou]

Seriously the most clear explanation of his philosophy. Outstanding work as always. You deserve success for this amazing content

[@noahgardner4758]

Been waiting for this! Love all of your content, can’t wait see what ideas you bring up!

[@Jadbgjoka]

Thanks for inspiring me to pick up my Bataille Reader for the first time in 11 years! Great video!

[@markdpricemusic1574]

For a gorgeous and terrifying starter on Bataille's wide-ranging thought, I'd recommend ''The Tears of Eros''. From cave painting and archaic religion, through mythology, pantheism, gnosticisim, Christianity, war, mysticism and surrealism, all with lashings of sex and death and great art, what's not to like? Health warning: the closing pages are not for the faint hearted,

[@shanezula5197]

Thank you for the intro to Bataille. I stumbled onto Nick Land's Thirst for Annihilation and wanted to learn more about Bataille before potentially reading and this was the perfect intro. I love your channel! My Christmas was enhanced this year by your timely lecture on the Three Magi - and your lectures on the various gnostic texts and mystics have been enlightening. I've picked up Bernard McGinn's "Foundations of Mysticism" at your recommendation - I'm sure it will be a good companion as I delve into the mystics. Currently I am reading the sermons of Meister Eckhart alongside Rudolph Otto's Mysticism East and West. On the subject of sacrifice, have you read Jane Ellen Harrison's "Prolegomena to the Study of Greek Religion"? She does quite an exploration into the history of sacrifice and her writing is very engaging. Not only does she explore the "I give so that you give" but also she goes into the "I give so that you stay away" sacrifices. Thanks again for the amazing content!

[@susrando7887]

Absolutely love the content and appreciate all the knowledge and information you provide but my favorite part of this channel has gotta be the captions beneath the photos lol

[@paulbishop6357]

You said it. His ability to be witty and lighthearted about the most serious and grave topics is delightful. Humor is a great facilitator. And he is a grande master of the art.

[@markdpricemusic1574]

Superb presentation of Bataille's thought, many thanks for this Sir!. If anyone wants to read contemporary philosophies of transgression and ''ex-stasis'' which follow Bataille's trajectory, you could do a lot worse than start with Nick Land's ''Visions of Excess'', Jill Marsden's ''After Nietzsche: Voyages in Ecstasy and Annihilation'' and pretty much anything by the awesome Alphonso Lingis (Excesses, Violence and Splendor, Abuses), but especailly his treatments of Voudoun, the Rangda dance, and the nihiilist-Buddhist ''Chod'' death ritual. And on economics, try inter-library loans because academic publishers are ruthless swidlers. Lingis is reasonably priced but Land and Marsden get around 5% of the publisher's hefty £100 price tags. Thanks again Dr Sledge!

[@jackpayne4658]

If Bataille had been born as a Japanese novelist, his name would be Yukio Mishima.

[@TheEsotericaChannel]

Yep, a lot of intersections here

[@brianjauch9958]

Or if he was fictional Col. Kurtz!

[@gnosis555]

I think Mishima was very familiar with him and a lot of other French decadent authors.

[@kaliyugavideoentertainment4066]

Lol all the ppl I’m fascinated with pointing in the same direction

[@corticallarvae]

Mishima is demiurge

[@tiodeleve]

Man, this was so unexpected! "O Erotismo" was the last book I've finished reading, a couple of weeks ago, and it blew my mind, it completely took over my thinking for the time I was reading it, it introduced new parameters for me to think reality, it was HEAVY. It feels like a huge coincidence to see this video appearing here, you never talk about 20th century stuff. Would love to hear your thoughts on acéphale and the whole deal with Bataille making himself available for a sacrifice. Anyway, pardon my bad english, and thanks for the amazing surprise!

[@guapelea]

It was also a deep impact for me when I read it, fifteen years ago. And it was a terrible fight against the way Bataille dwells on paradoxes

[@ralaznable8640]

The movie Martyrs (2008) touches on Batallie's concepts.

[@draw4everyone]

Please do more videos on contemporary philosophers influenced by Gnosticism / esoteric thought!! Rene Girard, Cyril O’regan, etc

[@earthzoneproductions9041]

You're so good at explaining this. Thank you!

[@Thumbelllina]

I really enjoy your videos. So glad I have found your channel!

[@elephantintheroom-francois494]

I put this as a reply to someone below, (not the devil 😅) then thought it might have wider appeal so I’m copying and pasting it here. Thanks for the depth and breadth of your analysis 😊… ‘Perhaps our civilised notion that we have outgrown sacrifice allows a kind of blindness to the way sacrifice is more operative than ever in todays world. We sacrifice the present for the future as indentured slaves for the best years of our life, we sacrifice this life on the promise of the next, we sacrifice the initiation of youth for the comfort, withdrawal and complacency of our older years, we sacrifice biodiversity in the name materialism and productivity and we sacrifice ancestry and a sense of belonging and being known for the perceived ‘privileges’ of anonymous free-floating ‘freedom’. ‘

[@ALWA07]

I really wish there was MUCH more resources in terms of his texts & even just deeper insight into such transgressive thought. I've watched this episode multiple times for this reason. It's mind-blowing his conviction from interviews I've watched and just...how authentic all feels. Certainly has an allure for sure.

[@crabnebula1914]

This is a great video and I love your insights on Bataille, I have been using his writing to reframe the formal approach to film criticism and it's really exploded my notions of critical binaries; keep up the awesome work!

[@RabbiMahdiAmin]

WOW...Dear Rebbe...great stuff! If I can add myself as a novice's 2 cents conlcuding remarks on Bataille's works that I've researched extensively, in short, he yearned to be a 'violently religious saint', or in other words to be that self-sacrificial 'Monad' of singular-minded God-devotion that might seem shocking to his atheistic followers. Unfortunately, many people have confused/relegated Bataille to the domain of pornified transgressions which involves gore, but all such literature by Bataille was to point to something totally else as he was more preoccupied with the 'nature of divine' that could demonstrate its sovereignty by unprecedented violence which humanity cannot fathom, or in other words 'Hell'. He very well knew masses couldn't be stirred to a passionately religious erotic experience unless they could imagine objects that got them 'sensuous' to begin with which is why his works had plenty of pornographic and licentious imageries. Sounds quite contrary to the face-value of his works, but his message was definitely for a higher call and not to be confused with encouragement for libertine sexual indulgence (that some of his so-called fan following hail him for), as his tone is that of an extreme religious devotion independent of placid theological/philosophical Christian dogma. Will vindicate my remarks herein by quoting 2 statements from Bataille directly instead in his book 'Erotism: Death and Sensuality; Forewrod Section; pg 8: "Nothing has intrigued me more than the idea of once more coming across the image that haunted my adolescence, the image of God. This is certainly not a return to the faith of my youth. But human passion has only one (this) object/objective in this forlorn world of ours."' Part 2; Chapter VII; pg 269: "I am not in the least inclined to think that physical pleasure is the most important thing on earth. Man is not to be identified with the organ of pleasure........."'

[@erickfo]

Brilliant presentation of Bataille and his connection with Gnosticism

[@RolandMaximus]

Awesome to see this channel growing steadily

[@helenbostock2350]

Brilliant information about his man. I never heard of him before so all information is fine. Thanks you. Your knowledge never seem to amazing me.

[@batbite_]

I've been bugging you about making this video for so long: Thank you so much! :)))))

[@catch-2321]

“Say the Line, Foxtrot!” “The living organism, in a situation determined by the play of energy on the surface of the globe, ordinarily receives more energy than is necessary for maintaining life; the excess energy (wealth) can be used for the growth of a system (e.g., an organism); if the system can no longer grow, or if the excess cannot be completely absorbed in it's growth, it must necessarily be lost without profit; it must be spent, willingly or not, gloriously or catastrophically.” “Yay!”

[@childintime6453]

Thank you very much, I love this channel! Because of this vid I picked up The Accursed Share and it's been great. Can you do a video about Jakob Böhme sometime in the future? wanted to study him for a long time but do not know where to start

[@TheEsotericaChannel]

might be doing an intro to Böhmian theosophy super soon!

[@lucretiak.7872]

when I saw you uploaded a video on Bataille, I literally jumped out of my chair haha. great stuff, doctor!

[@PseudoPseudoDionysius]

Brilliant as ever, Justin! Really exciting to hear your take on 20th century thought that links in with the channels main themes/concerns.

[@rolandferguson1209]

Thank you for introducing me to a most fascinating philosopher!

[@ethanjohnson4729]

Fantastic video! I've done some work on Bataille, and I think your video does his thought justice. If anyone is interested in his life, Michel Surya's biography is an enjoyable read.

[@OscarDiaz-mx8ik]

Thank you so much for this episode. LOVE Bataille.

[@云飞陆]

Oi mate. Keep up the great material. I recommend your channel to many folks and colleagues as well as on Reddit. You’re a great scholar.

[@WendysOccultCompass]

Yours is the best content on KZbin.

[@TheEsotericaChannel]

Many thanks !

[@ErForce1]

Ohh!! can't wait to listen! (wonder what the chances you've referenced Naked City's Leng Tch'e for us metal/doom OG's!)

[@Pixel4tedNinj4]

Bataille is absolutely wild. I think you’re missing a link or at least a tangent between Derrida and Bataille, which is Heidegger - who was also inspired by Bataille. I remember seeing Heidegger’s applause featured on the back cover of some work of Bataille’s and being absolutely astounded.

[@minimaleSSe]

It seems i could find some mentions of Heidegger praising Bataille. But i’m really not sure one could make the claim that Heidegger was inspired by him. Heidegger was pretty avert to novelty, and might have just thought bataille’s philosophy was close to his own.

[@TheEsotericaChannel]

I don't think they had much influence on one another

[@AO-oi5vc]

Yes, in fact Bataille hardly read anything by Heidegger, and dismissed him as a mere "Philosophy professor." The accolade that Heidegger supposedly gave to Bataille, of the best French thinker of that era, and which has, as you say, been plastered on the back of some translations of Bataille, can only make one shake their head, for it is a misattribution - Heidegger was actually referring to Maurice Blanchot, a friend of Bataille, when he made this assessment.

[@Pixel4tedNinj4]

@@AO-oi5vc Do you have a source for that? Very good to know, if so! I always thought it was sensible enough for Heidegger to praise Bataille - I don't think Heidegger would dismiss him as others have suggested - he seems to be similar to other thinkers Heidegger respects while wanting to overcome, specifically those who offer brilliant metaphysics that are profound in being insightfully symptomatic of an era

[@AO-oi5vc]

@@Pixel4tedNinj4 It has been attested to in a number of places, but you can read about it in Leslie Hill's Maurice Blanchot and Fragmentary Writing: A Change of Epoch (Continuum, 2012), p. 104, and note 5 on p. 154. Bataille himself refers to the mistake on p. 582-3 of his Choix de lettres (Gallimard: 1997). The misunderstanding regards an essay of Blanchot on Hölderlin, published in the journal Critique, of which Bataille was one of the founders and editors. Heidegger mistakenly attributed the essay to Bataille instead of Blanchot, and poor scholarship has led to English translations bearing the misattributed praise on their fourth-covers. Hope this helps!

[@bushipop9667]

Bataille-thought is now the umbrella for what today passes for Queer Theory; Performance Studies; and Racial Formation Theory. Anglo-American "theory' took a Continental turn with Sarte and then Foucault with his contemporary Bataille who loops back to Sade.

[@dbwred]

Jonas Ceika has a great video here on yt explaining Bataille based on the original Hellraiser, y'all should check it out. I was very excited to see a video recommend of you talking about him :) thanks dr sledge

[@crustymcgee6580]

Do you have the link?

[@dbwred]

@@crustymcgee6580 kzbin.info/www/bejne/aZjIYYNur8SkZ68

[@thatworksmedia]

This is by far the best video on Bataille on the internet. Are you by any way planning to do a video on the figure/symbolism of Aion Abraxas?

[@morthim]

consider for a minute: have we seen mr rogers and nietche in the same room at the same time?

[@TheEsotericaChannel]

It's a beautiful day for the ubermensch

[@mullac1992]

Thanks for this! I recently attempted to read Bataille but found him really hard to understand. Mostly because I don't read French.

[@mrl9418]

Which you correctly remark is an inspiration for Hellraiser. I told you! 😀 The ultimate end of your search is stepping sideways out of material reality. Into some dark wonderland.

[@Khemith_Demon_Hours]

Great introduction. I heard the name so many time but it never occurred to me to check him out. I'd love to see you do a segment on Austin Osman Spare.

[@TheEsotericaChannel]

I did

[@Khemith_Demon_Hours]

@@TheEsotericaChannel Damn looking for it right now!

[@agiomagikos]

This was absolutely fascinating

[@ralaznable8640]

This has to be the most clearest explanation of Bataille and his ideas ive ever heard. Thank you.

[@ians.mozdzen3012]

Great talk here. Thank you.

[@youliantroyanov2941]

Sledge on Bataille! Dream come true 🤩 Can we have Sledge on Land? Please, please, pretty please.... 🙏

[@MrVincentTremblay]

This video légitimitly blew my mind

[@shrimpscampin]

Been wanting to learn more about bataille since i started listening to deathspell omega, they directly quote him on multiple songs. He may as well be credited as a songwriter

[@somedude....]

This ties in well with al-kindi's teachings on the nature of the soul, imo

[@fuzzuck]

I first encountered Bataille as a teenager, one who had left behind my Jehovah's Witness childhood for something that felt real, true, even dangerous; I found it after wrestling with the tedium of Kant & Hegel, in Nietzsche. It was a dusty copy of 'The Joyful Wisdom', but its very dated translation of the title -- 'The Gay Science' -- didn't discourage me from exploring the philosophy that spawned a thousand ominous quotations. I scoured local bookstores, thrilled to find 'Beyond Good & Evil' & a Nietzsche Reader from Penguin. By the time I finished 'Beyond Good & Evil', my worldview had been utterly smashed & reforged. I understood the world very differently at a fundamental level, & I saw hypocrisy, lies, & irreconcilable perspectives everywhere. Nietzsche provides doorways, not destinations. When I read Bataille's 'On Nietzsche', I had no clue as to who he was, beyond the limited biographical data provided in the book itself. I wish now to find & read 'The Accursed Share' (at the very least) before re-reading 'On Nietzsche', over 25 years later. His translated prose retained a passion that reminded me of Henry Miller & even Norman Mailer: a fine, nuanced view of human nature that the latter shared with Nietzsche. I found that his writing was occasionally referencing violent ideological digressions that I lacked the context to properly grasp, but what I could grasp was fascinating.

[@anthonywall5227]

Thank you

[@GNeves302]

Though I can't say much for his ontology as gere presented, I can definitely see how his economical thought would be attractive in time like ours. I'd be curious to see how it stacks up with empirical and historical research.

[@drigrid]

Thank you for this video. As much as anyone can be a fan of someone who proposed human sacrifice to found a new religion I am a fan of Bataille. His ideas on existentialism have informed my views a great deal. Especially on the lack of meaning and sacrifice on public ritualism. I could rant for a long while on this, but specifically how rituals around coming of age have lost their meaning, and this lays the ground for debauchery. Youth culture and its ritualistic debauchery has a clear paralell in how society became more informal and religious rituals became toothless. As an atheist/buddhist myself I appreciate secular society, but I see value in the rituals religion provides. And to me that is central to what Bataille discussed in his ideas.

[@Bombergangkidscrub]

Hey Dr. Sledge! First of all thank you for all the content, it's been very helpful especially as I've been slowly making my way more to Kabbalistic study. I'm not sure if this will reach you at all and this might be a bit of a mess of a comment but I have a few thoughts and responses as I have become a bit familiar with Bataille and his ideas from friends of mine and have a few issues I feel don't get addressed much as well about Historical Materialism as well. I should state I have sympathies to the Communist left (Specifically the Internationalist Communist Tendency and groups of that sort), and that is the perspective I'm coming to this with. I find often when Historical Materialism is discussed it is informed by the Stalinist perspective which has cast a long shadow over the last 100+ years (to the point "dialectical materialism is common reference.) I also find often that when this methodology is discussed it is also presumed that Historical materialism hasn't developed at all. With the first the Stalinist notion of Materialism is so wildly alien at times from how historical materialism operates in it's presumptions that it sometimes seems like more of a parody. (Stalin's own book on the topic introduces it with a tautology that is honestly just hilarious) In his own lifetime Marx never really considered himself breaking with Hegelian Dialectics, however I think that many historical materialists do not consider the system to be dialectical, and, I can only speak for myself on this one but I would say that HIstorical Materialism rejects Dialectics and Hegel's system by seeing Hegel as someone who shows how class society operates essentially saying the quiet part outloud and that the goal is to totally demolish the system of dialectical notions forced upon us by class society. In this sense without realizing it Marx unintentionally was on his way to a criticism of dialectics wholesale although he clearly did not notice this to some degree. The working class in this sense makes up the class that can abolish the dialectical system not out of a sense of some self-indentification such as in Hegel and the slave-master dialectic, etc, but by it's material interest of self-abolition. The next thing as for the development of Historical materialism and I will leave some links as well for those interested, one of the things I found odd but interesting about Battaille is his notion of the accursed share and sacrifice is that it is in some sense similar to the concept of Decadence. In Decadence theory we note that because of the over-abundance created by the development in mass production and the process over time which causes the tendency of the rate of profit to fall, we can see the issues of the system turn and become worse. This eventually leads to the need to cannibalize via massive world wars for example, and the restructuring of infrastructure that allows new value to be able to develop. Essentially the "sacrifice" here is the working class and existing infrastructure in favor of new value and this profit. Lastly I would say that Bataille's notion of waste to me seems very informed by one living in a capitalist society. Class Society in general often involves waste due to the nature that a ruling class must constantly sacrifice various materials, people, etc in order to remain on top. In the modern context this is especially true with the over-production being in the pursuit of profit, waste of products being in the attempt to keep profitability and thus status. This of course also hits it's highest point during wars and so on. Either way I do not disagree with Bataille per se in this sense but I would find giving it universal status in society in general is a misstep. Anyway not sure if you'll see this but if you do thank you for reading my jumbled mess I left some links if anyone wants to read on this and while I am not at all the most well versed on Bataille, his entry into my life over the last few years has been at least interesting in it's similarities and differences to my own thoughts so hopefully sharing this was interesting to someone else haha Decadence: www.leftcom.org/en/forum/2013-02-17/a-framework-for-the-concept-of-decadence-of-capitalism www.leftcom.org/en/articles/2003-12-01/for-a-definition-of-the-concept-of-decadence www.leftcom.org/en/articles/decadence Irrationality: www.marxists.org/archive/damen/1972/irrational.htm On Stalinism: www.leftcom.org/en/articles/2003-08-01/stalin-and-stalinism

[@guapelea]

Bataille tries to unveil the fundamental nature of the relationship between man and the sacred. For that reason, I doubt that he could see in sacrifice a display of the decadence of a society. Possibly he saw quite the opposite.

[@elephantintheroom-francois494]

Perhaps our civilised notion that we have outgrown sacrifice allows a kind of blindness to the way sacrifice is more operative than ever in todays world. We sacrifice the present for the future as indentured slaves for the best years of our life, we sacrifice this life on the promise of the next, we sacrifice the initiation of youth for the comfort, withdrawal and complacency of our older years, we sacrifice biodiversity in the name materialism and productivity and we sacrifice ancestry and a sense of belonging and being known for the perceived ‘privileges’ of anonymous free-floating ‘freedom’.

[@nowhereman6019]

Bataille actively pursues individualism and rejects of spiritual oneness due to it's destruction of the self. In this, he's similar to Max Stirner, fully devoting one's self to maintaining their ego at any cost.

[@hugodesrosiers-plaisance3156]

I come into many of your videos not knowing a thing about the subject matter and I end up captivated every time. Thank you for your work, Dr Sledge.

[@unusualpond]

Exceptional summary! I must admit I can’t actually see the explicit connection to deconstruction as you mentioned (I am literate in Deleuze/Derrida) so would be grateful if anyone can explain this to me like I’m 5.

[@milojohnson6068]

Edge core? I love you and this channel, Dr. Sledge. Also Nietzsche Rogers.

[@dvepps6780]

Excellent work here.

[@EdT.-xt6yv]

6:09 scarcity intentionally (lack) & sacrifice 10:15 15:30

[@yarsss7463]

Oh my. A video about my favourite writer. Thank you so much

[@yarsss7463]

Have to finish the book first then I am going to watch this 🥰

[@gabbar51ngh]

This was really good.

[@KnightofEkron]

I love Bataille.

[@FatalStrategies101]

Another thinker openly influenced by both gnostics and G. Bataille is Jean Baudrillard. I'd love to hear your take on his Fatal Theory someday. Also, your channel is really interesting. Thanks for sharing your knowledge! 🙏

[@HissingGeotrauma]

그 동안 바타유를 이해하기 어려웠는데, 덕분에 왜 바타유가 중요한지 이해할 수 있었습니다. 고맙습니다.

[@Devon_maloy]

Thanks!

[@corticallarvae]

Hey doc.:) one of my favorite subjects

[@damin1916]

Amazing video!!!

[@AlessandroZir]

there is a comic dimension to Bataille as well, and he actually ties the notion of transgression to that of law; for him it's impossible even to conceive transgression without the corresponding notion of law; he doesn't allow for any kind of naive permissiveness, much on the contrary and was in this sense very critical of Jean Genet and Sartre;

[@Swangorapofficial]

My favorite philosopher, but I could see how his critics see him as banal for thinking sadistically.

[@Jguerra0392]

Zizek gives a very similar analysis in God in Pain.

[@literallyreal8938]

Definitely a crazy video with topics I would not have seen otherwise

[@crustymcgee6580]

The summary of his teachings don't seem unsettling, though a bit depressing. Has this gone over my head or is there something wrong with me that I'm not disturbed? (o:

[@guapelea]

I agree with you. To me, Nietzsche is more unsettling than Bataille.

[@crustymcgee6580]

@@guapelea Eternal Recurrence is the single most disturbing theory I've ever heard.

[@guapelea]

@@crustymcgee6580 I again agree. Bataille states freedom, suicidal freedom indeed, but Nietzsche denies it in the most disturbing and absolute way.

[@jmiller1918]

Question for Dr. Sledge (or a knowledgeable Bataille reader): Is the book "Georges Bataille: A Critical Introduction (Modern European Thinkers)" by Benjamin Noys a beneficial tool for better understanding Bataille's ideas?

[@oat5662]

Well, I gotta read Bataille now.

[@ferencivanics9980]

Thank you.

[@Bildgesmythe]

Pious views of so many of the occult manuscripts shocked me. Too many Hammer Studios movies in my youth. No one was bellowing Hail Satan. Now, this guy hits closer to the scary. What's scary is it does describe humans. God help us!

[@Jason-ms8bv]

Thank you for introducing us to G Bataille, I had never heard of him, but I will certainly look him up now! I learned something today and that is a gift!!!

[@nombre624]

Great Bataille!!

[@Hells_Chance]

Alright, time for a question unrelated, though not entirely, to this fantastic video. Have you ever watched Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood?

[@kerycktotebag8164]

i learned dialectical-historical materialism a la Marx, & also found the base/superstructure dichotomy to be missing a "ground" epistemologically speaking. the illusory object/subject split's ground is what i call a process-relational material monad, each process irreduceable, thus the entire relationship is a monad (non-dual) of irreduceable severality. multi-aspect monism basically but it's all material to me. and it does lead to excess. i actually refer to one of the primary process's "downstream effects" as "sacrifice", but perhaps i should call that "excess" and put sacrifice downstream of that. hmm

[@batbite_]

Question: When Bataille then writes about Gnosticism: What is his sources?

[@unusualpond]

The two opposed economies must have been influenced to some extent, by Freud’s writings on the death drive in Beyond the Pleasure Principle, no?

[@dannahbanana11235]

Violently destabilizing metaphysics sounds like something you definitely shouldn't do. Yet somehow that string of words doesn't deter me either...

[@timetogoahead3029]

Brilliant! 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽

[@Chaimiz]

Sounds like this dude coukd have been an inspiration to Lovercraft too :)