143: Georges Bataille, part 1 - On Nietzsche

The two-part conclusion of season six begins. We're delving into the work of Georges Bataille, with a focus on his book, "On Nietzsche". Bataille is one of the most interesting intellectual nodes of 20th century philosophy. For a long time, his work was obscure in the English-speaking world, often eclipsed by those he influenced, such as Derrida and Foucault. However, among the postmodernists, Bataille takes Nietzsche as his closest companion, and struggles most fiercely with him. On Nietzsche is written during the war years, and is a very strange book that defies categorization. We'll talk about the background of the text, Bataille's life, the secret society Acephale, and the main ideas in Summit and Decline. In the next episode, we'll discuss 1944 diaries with a focus on the philosophical ideas therein.