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.
Georges BatailleRead
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.
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.
More from Georges Bataille
All quotes βA judgment about life has no meaning except the truth of the one who speaks last, and the mind is at ease only at the moment when everyone is shouting at once and no one can hear a thing.
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I believe that truth has only one face: that of a violent contradiction.
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What does physical eroticism signify if not a violation of the very being of its practitioners? β 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.
Georges BatailleRead
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