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Obscenity is our name for the uneasiness which upsets the physical state associated with self-possession, with the possession of a recognized and stable individuality.
Georges Bataille
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Obscenity reflects the discomfort that disrupts our sense of self and individuality.

Georges Bataille's quote suggests that what we deem 'obscene' arises from feelings of instability and discomfort in our identity. It connects the concept of obscenity to the human experience of self-possession, indicating that profound unease can challenge our understanding of ourselves and what constitutes a stable and recognizable individuality.

Themes

ObscenityIndividualitySelf-PossessionDiscomfortIdentityPhilosophy

In practice

Example use cases

In a philosophical debate about the nature of obscenity in art.

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The anguish of the neurotic individual is the same as that of the saint. The neurotic, the saint are engaged in the same battle. Their blood flows from similar wounds. But the first one gasps and the other one gives.
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What does physical eroticism signify if not a violation of the very being of its practitioners? – A violation bordering on death, bordering on murder?
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It is clear that the world is purely parodic, that each thing seen is the parody of another, or is the same thing in a deceptive form.
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I think that knowledge enslaves us, that at the base of all knowledge there is a servility, the acceptation of a way of life wherein each moment has meaning only in relation to another or others that will follow it.
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