Abstract:

Georges Bataille’s intellectual attitude toward Hegel implies a certain complex structure. This makes it difficult to posit Bataille’s attitude as endorsement or rejection of Hegel. Even if it is possible to infer that Bataille’s formulation of sovereignty directly challenges Hegel’s Phenomenology, we can still realize that in Bataille’s sovereignty, the crucial part is played by the insights taken from Phenomenology. This study tries to look at where this relationship finds its clearest expression: slave/master dialectics. The main concern of this study, therefore, consists in analyzing the insights which we realize when we put slave/master dialectic and Bataille’s sovereignty side by side. This shows not only how Bataille’s sovereignty enlightens slave/master dialectics, but also how Bataille’s encounter with Hegel conditions his formulation of sovereignty

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