The Universe as the Measure of Humanity: the Cosmological Foundation of Bataille’s Sacred Anthropology
Author: WANG Chunming, Lecturer, School of Philosophy; Researcher, Center for Contemporary Marxism in Foreign Countries, Fudan University
Abstract:
Using a framework of “heterology” and “atheology,” and by adopting and transforming certain conclusions from religious phenomenology and religious sociology, Bataille proposed an interpretation of the nature, structure and meaning of the “sacred” that was both unique and multi-levelled. His interpretation takes the sacred dimension of humanity as its core concern, so that what it expresses is ultimately a kind of sacred anthropology. This paper argues that the theoretical foundation of Bataille’s sacred anthropology lies in Bataille’s cosmology. In other words, for Bataille, the issue of the the sacred is in essence an issue related to humanity, and this is because in Bataille’s view, the cosmic system, which gives birth to human life and exceeds the limits of human beings, is the real measure of humanity.
Keywords:
Sacred, heterogeneity, atheology, cosmology, anthropology
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