Eroticism (Penguin Modern Classics) - Softcover

EROTICISM is a study of the underlying sexual basis of religion and philosophy, especially in its relationship to death. Bataille's great erudition enables him to reach from Freud to Sade and from Saint Theresa to Kinsey. This far-reaching, provocative and often controversial book includes the results of Bataille's own research into the origins of taboo, religious ecstacy and the erotic impulse. This important and stimulating work helps us to understand the vital influence of Bataille onFrench writing today and modern existential thought.

GEORGES BATAILLE (1897-1962) wrote an extraordinary mixture of poetry, philosophy, fantasy and history. His influence on writers as various as Sartre, Foucault, Barthes and Lacan is incalculable. His major works (all published as Modern Classics) are the novels THE STORY OF THE EYE and BLUE OF NOON and the essays in EROTICISM.