Reading 7/22 – Hobbes Leviation

This week we are readin all of chapters 13 & 17 of Hobbes Leviathan. This reading is less than 10 pages in length, and contain the core of Hobbes’ arguement for monarchism.

Additionally we are reading the following paragraphs from chapters 11(¶1&2) 14(¶1-10,18) 15(¶1-5), as they contain some helpful context on his definitions and background assumptions about human nature (less than 9 pages). The rest of these chapters are still fun to read but Hobbes has a tendency to digress.

Here is a link to a pdf of the book.

Reading 7/16

Entering the filthy subterranean lair of Georges Bataille… It would be impossible to even attempt a summary of the astonishing breadth of his thought in a week, so these readings will broadly look at his idea of heterology, with a dappling of base materialism.

For next week, from the volume Visions of Excess: Selected Writings 1927-39, let’s look at “The Pineal Eye”, “The Use Value of D.A.F. de Sade (An Open Letter to My Current Comrades)”, and “The Psychological Structure of Fascism”.

If this feels like a bit much to digest (possible given the elliptical nature of Bataille’s writing), focus on the latter two pieces, as I suspect they are where our discussion will center. “The Pineal Eye” is a remarkable piece of writing though — and not very long either – so try and hit it as it’s one of his seminal texts.

See you all next week for this ritual of self-degradation and abasement!