Theory of Religion

Georges Bataille

bY Ro b e r t Hu r leY
T r a n sla te d

Z-ONE T]OOK S NEW Y OR K

1989
 reveoledto itscll b.v
Desireis r''hot trctnsformt IJcin11J,
( t - lr 9 t l9 Ur zo n c, ln c' into on "object" revectledto d
itselt'in (true) know'leclge,
Z o N F BOOKS
"tubjcct" dit't'erentt'rom the objcct ttnd "opposecl"to it.
6 r l R r o a ( l\\' a v Su itc 8 3 8
N c s Ytr r k, NY t o o t I It is in oncl b.r'- or betterstill, as - "his" Desirethat mtrn
i.sJormerlan(l is ret'cdled- to himself and to othert - dt
A l l r i g h ts r cse r te r l
an I, as the I that is csscntiall.vdifferent t'rom, antl racli-
b c r cp r o tlu cccl ' sttl rcd i n r'
N o p ar t o t th is b o o k m a v
il' r a n v lirrm or trv to, the non-|.'lltc (hunton) I is the I of a
call.r'opposed
r c t r i t :r ' a l svstcn l, o r tr a n sn litte ltl
m cch a ni cal ' photo-
. ' ' t r . "",r ., in clu d in g e le ctr o n ic' Desireor oJ Desire.
c r r y r 'in g , n licr o f iIm in g ' r t- co r d in g ' o r o thtru i sc
beinyl,there-
The verv hcing oJ mon, thc selJ-conscious
ct) l) \in g l) t r n tittt' tl lr r .Stt ti ons, t't7
1 . t , . 1 ,t lilr lh ' ll
C"p r r ig llt I \(( |t D \ the
t'orc, in'rpliesand presupposesDesire. Consequentl.v,
J r l ( l r,' x,,1 r lr , tl' \' ' tr r ' tttr l(
* ith o u t l ri ttt'n
r c v i e u tr s lo r th c p u b lic llr e ss ) humttn reolit.r.cdnbelormed and mdintdineclonlv within
r'
p c r t t' tissio n{ io n ' r th c f' u b lish e an animal hJe. Ilut, if animal Desire
a biological re(1lit.t',
a s lfilo r ic de l a R tl i tl i ort
O r i g ir r a llv p u b lish ccl in F r a r ice lt is not the
conditionof se\-consciousne.ts,
is the neces.sctn'
O r 9 7j b v F .d itio n s Ga llir la r cl'
suJt'icientcondition. By itself, this Desireconstitutesonlv
o l i\m cr ica
P r i n tctl in th e L ln ite r l Sta te r s thc SentimentoJ sell.

l ) i s tr ib tr tctl b r ' f h c N' ll f Pr e

ss' man in a pos-
In contrastto the knowledllethat kecp.s
L o n tlo n' Lngl antl
C a m b r id q c, N' la ssa ch u sctts' ' r n tl him ancl move.shim to
sivc c1uietude,Desirecli.s-quiets
oction. Ilorn ol Desire,oction tcnds to satist'v'it, antl can
i c'rti on l )'rta
[ - i b r a n o f Co n g r css Ca t' r lo u in g - in - Pr ' rbl or ot \east
rlo so onl' b.v'thc "negation," lhe cle.struction,
R . r ta illc, Gco r g cs' r 8 9 7 - r 9 6 2 ' the tronst'ormotion,o;f the desiredobject: to .sotist'r'
hun-
' l- h co n o f r clig io r t'
ger, t'or cxomple, the Jood must be cle.rtroved or, in (1n)'
' li- .r n sla tio no { : T lr lo r ic d c la r clig i on'
cose,tronsJormcd.Thus,oll oction is "negdtin[1."
1 3 ib lio g r a Ph r 'P'
:
- litle ' - Alcxanclr c Kojdve
r . I{ e lisio n . I'
I r l 48 .lr ]7 ll 198() 2oo''l
fl 8-utt5cl t lntrocluctionto the Recttlingot' IIegel
l s l lN o - 9 :1 22 9 9 - o lt- ir( a lk' p a p cr )
I s l lN o - 9 4 2 l9 t) - o 9 - 4( p b k' : ' r lk' p ' r p cr )
 Contents

ll'here'l'his BookIs Situated e

Introtluction 11

PAR I ONE I -TI E B A S I C D . { TA

I Anintalitv rt

Il I Iu m o n i tv a n d th c D cvcl o p n cn t o f th e

ProJane Workl 2r

III Sacrit'ica,the Fcstival,ond the Principles

of thc Sacrec!World 43

TWO REI IGION. WI'I HIN I.HI I -I N , , I I ' I . S O F RLASON

I The tN[ilitar)' Order 65

II Dualism crnt! ,l'lorolit,v 69

lll M cd i a ti o n rs

IV The RiscoJ lndustr.v 8r

To Wh o m ... ro7

General Tablettnd ReJerences L 1'7

 Where This Book Is Situated

'l'hc
fbuntlationof'one'sthought is the thought of anotlrcr;
thought is likc a l>rickccmcntc<linto a uall. It is a simu-
lacrum of thought il, in his kroking batk on hirnst'Il',thc
bcing u'hri tl.rinksscr-sa fl-ccbrick anrl nr>ttht' prict' tlris
scmlrlanc'c'
of lrecrlonrcostshinr: hc <loc'sn'tst'r'tlrt' lastc
ground anrl tlrt' hcapsof <letritusto uhich a setrsitivt'r'an-
itv consignshinr u ith his brick.
'fht' u.ork clf thr: mason, u'ho asscmtrlcs,is tlrc uork

that matters.Thus the adjoiningbricks, in a book, should

not be lt:ssvisiblc than thc nov brick, uhich is thc book.
What is offered the readcr, in f-act,cannot trt'an clt'mcnt,
lrr-rtmust bc the cnsenrblein u'hich it is inserterl:it is tht'
rrholc human asserrblage
and etlifice,rvhich must be, not
just a pilc of scral>s,but r.rthcr a srlf-consciousncss.
In a st'nst'thc unlimitccl asscmblagcis tlrc inrpossible.
It takt-scc)uragcanclstutrbornncssnot to go slack.llli'rr'-
thing invitcs on(' to <lropthc substanccfirr tht' sha<lou,to
 ) R Y 'J F R F L I C J I O N

thought
inipcrsonll mrlvcmcrrt of
tilrsakc thc opcn antl is
Of tt"t"t thc isolatctlopinion
for thc isolatedopinion' Introduction
of rcvealing rvhat thc asscmblagc
also the shortest mcans
Btrt it has this dct'p mean-
c.scntiallvis - thc inrpossiblc.
ot'thc t'rct'
ing onlv i[ it is t.totc:onscious or at
rlt'fincs an apcx tlf pclssillilitr''
I'his Srou'crlt'ssll('ss
impossibilitvopcns tlonsciot'tsness
l.^.,, .rtlo.,''rt'sstt[ thc
placc'
li'r it to think' In this gatht'rin{
to all that is possiblt- rvhich
at tht bountlarv of that
shcrc vitllcucc is rifc' This "theon' of rerligion" outlines lvhat a finished rv<rrk
rt-alizes
u'ho ref'lcctsrvithin cohcsion
cscaPcsc'ohcsion,he rvoulcf be: I have triccl to exprLrssa mobilethought, with-
anYr(x)m fcrrhinl'
that thcre is no lrll.tgt'r out secking its dcfinitive state.
A philosophvis a coherentsum or it is nothing, but it
the inclivi<lual,
exprcss('s not in<lissolublc
mankind. lt must
thcrefbre rcmain opcn to the der,clopmentsthat r.r'illfbl-
lorv, in human thought . . . rvhere those u.ho think, insofar
(that u'hich thcv are not) are
as thev rejcct tht'ir othe'rness
alrearlvlost in thc universaloblir.ion.A philosopht'is nc-r,er
a hclr-rse;
it is a constructionsitc. But its incompletionis not
that of scienc'c.Scit'nceclrarvsup a nrultitu<lco1'finishccl
parts and onlf its lr'holc prt'sentscmptv spacL-s,
uhereasin
our striving for cohersivcncss,
thc incomplcticln is not
rcstrictedto the lacunaco{ thought; at evcrv point, at each
point, thcre is the impossibilitvof thc final statc.
'l'his condition of impossibilitv is not thc cxcuse for

11
r0
 II]EOF]Y OF REL L GION

all rcal philosophi Th.'

I Irt' mt'.t .f thought to r('stri(,tt:(l<ftrntains, .rssr,ientistscl., r.tct
undcniabledclicicncies;it limits all PnrtosoPnv'
'fhc philosopherhimsclf cclultl.rssirnil;rte tht' .t cluir.tl k'<l* lt'tlgt,.lil tht' essen-
to u'ait'
scientistis hc u'ho agrces '.t'
tial incomplctionof thor-rghtthis arl<lsan int,r.itablcdc
\\'aits, but he cannot tlo so lergitirnatclv'I'hilosophv focto
Ncl in.rrnpk'tiri.. Nlore.r'cr,rig<lrrlt'ma.clsa clt'arrt.t,rgniti,rr
rcspontls from thc start to an irrcs<llvablccxigcncv'
,rl tIi t rt t r r nr lit ion. .
one can "bc" inclt'pendcntlyof a rcsponscto the questitln
-fhus thc philosoplter'srcspottscis nt'Lt-ssrr- Tht'sc prinriplcs art' lar renrovcrllrorn a nal. of phil-
that it raiscts.
if it osophizing that is currt'ntlt' r-t'i.t,iling if ncit thc <.1(.(\,p_
ilv given helbrc thc t'laborationof a philosophv 'rnd
tht' tanc' cat lcastt hc r . ur io. sit r . of
t hc pulr lic.Fr
.ir*g". in tht el.rboratitln,somctimcs trvclt oning to . cn if t lr o. ar c
to them' strrtngl_vopposr-dto thc motlcrn insistcnct,that .rttathcs
rcsults obtaincd, ft cannotiusilfrablvbe subordinated
of to tlrc indirirlual an<lthe inrlir.idual'sisr>lation.
T'ht.rct.an_
I'hilosophv'srcsPonsecannot bc an cflect pltilosophical
not bc anv philosophr of the inrlir,itlualanrl thc cxcn.ise
labors, and lrhilc it mal not lre arbitrart', this .rsstturcs,
indivi<lualposi- of thought c'annotha,r'eanv other outcornc than thc ncga-
gircn fiom tl'rc start, a contcmPt for the
all tion of individual pcrspcc.tir,es.A basic problenr is linkccl
tion and an extrcnlc rnobilitv clf thought' opi'n to
to thc vcrr. itlea of philosophr':hon, to get otrt of tl.rc
previous or sub-seguent movclncllts; ancl, linketl to the
thc hunran situation. l{ou' to shift frorn a rt,flecticlr-r
.".porl.,' lrom thc start, or rathcr, consubstarltiallvith suborrli_
of t}rought' natccl to ncccssan.acticln,c.ondcmncclto useltrl rlistinc_
antl incornplctent-ss
..'rp,rttr,,,thc tlissatis{bction
uhilc carrvitlg one's tion, to sclf-consciousllcss
a\ coltsrioLlsnt-ss
of thr, being
So it is .1nact <lf cot.tsciotlsness,
t.totto u'ithout ('sscn(L-- but cronsr.ious?
t'luci<lationto thc limit o[ irnmediatepossibilitics'
Thc inevitableincomplction rlocsr-rotin anv rvav dclar.
seck a rlefinitirc statc that r.r,illncrer bc granted. I)oubt-
thc rt-sponsc,r,r'l'richis a mor.cmcnt - u.crc it in a st,nsc
lcss it is necctssarY to bring one's thinking, n'hich moves
fbr- thc lac'k of a responsr'.On thc contrarv, it gives it thc
rrithin clomainsalreadv crplort-cl,up to thc lcvcl of
truth of thc impossiblc,the truth of a sc.rcam.The basic
n.rulatccl knou'lcdgc.And in anv cascthc responst'itsclf is
par.rrlox of this "thcorv of rcligion," n.hich posits thc
in .fact mcaninglessunlcss it is that of an intellcctuallv
concli- intlil'irlualas a "thing," anrl a negationof intimacr,,brings
.l.r'"ltrp",l irrdiridtral.But if thc scconclof thcsc
the a poucrlessnessto light, no cloubt, btrt tlie rrv of this
tions must bc satisficdbclbrehand,no onc tan mcct
movc- poucrlt'ssncssis a prclurlc to thc clccpt,st.il",rc,...
lirst crc'cpt apllrorimatclY: r-rnlcsstlnc lirnitt'tl thc

[) tl
 PR nr ON U

T he Bas i c D ata
 CH, qpr t n I

Anim alit y

Imman ence of t he Eat er and t he Eat en

I considt'ranimalitv frclm a narro\\' r'it'upoint that sci'ms
questionablc to mt:, but its value u,ill become clear in the
coursLrof thc cxposition. From this vieu,point,animalitv
is immc<liacv <lr immanence.
Thr: immanenccof thc animallvith respcctt<lits milieu
is given in a prccisesituaticln,thc importanceof lr.hich is
firnrlamcntal.I u'ill not spcakof it continualh, br.rtu,ill not
be ablc to losc sight of it; the r,crv conclusionof mv statc-
mcnts r,villrerturnto this startingpoint: thesituationis4rlcn
x'ltenoneanimttleatsanother.
What is given u'hcn onc animal eats anclther is alu,avs
tLrc creatLtreof the one that eats. It is in this sensc
-fellow
that I spcak of immancncr'.
I <lo not mean a.p11ow
creaturcperccir,etlas such, but
thcre is ncltransct'nrlcncer
lrctu ecn thc catcr and the eatcnl
there is a rlifft'rencc,of coursc, but this animal that cats

1a
 ar7-

BA:JIIJ DAIA

in an afflrmation clf that u.aters he is only a higher u'ave ovcrturning thc other,
thc othcr callnot confront it
u,eakcr oncs.
dif fcrcncc.
not cat one anothcr' ' ' ' That onc animal cats anothcr scarcelyalters a funda-
Animals of a givcn speciesdcl
if thc goshau'k cating mcntal situation: everv animal is in rhe world like v,aterin
I'crhaps, but thiJ tloes not matter
it crlearlvfrom itsclf in the v,ater.1'he animal situation tlocs contain a componcnt of
tht hcn tlocs not clistinguish
an object from ourselves' tht'human situation;if nced be, the animalcan bc rcgarded
s311s\\dY that u'e distinguish
of thc obiect as such' as a subjcctlor which the rcst of the lr'orkl is an obiect,btrt
Thc distinction requires a positing
differencc if the obicct it is no,er given the possibilitvof rt:ganling itsclf in this
'l'hcrc cloesnot extst anv rJjscernib/e
that anothcr animal eats lr,av.Elcmentsof this situation can be graspcdbv human
has not been posited' Thc animal
the. animal that is intclligcncc,btrt the animal canncltreolrzethem.
is rrot yct given as an obiect' Betr'r'een
is no rclation of subor-
eate,t an,l lh" o,l" that eats, therc
Dependence and Independence
djna ti o t.l l i k e th a tc .o n rre c ti n g a nobj cct' athi ng,tOman,
For thc animal' noth- of the Anim a|
rvho rcluses to be vicu'ed u' u thlt'g'
insofar as \\'L-arc hunlan It is true that the animal, likc thc plant, has no autonotny
ing is givcn through time' It is
its duration is perccp- in relation to thc rest of the r,r,orld.An atom of nitrogen,
that thc obiect exists in time rvhcre
another exists this side of of gold, or a rnolecule of water cxist r,vithoutneeding anv-
tible. llut the animal caten b1'
anclthis is only a dis- thing from r.vhatsurrounds thcm; they remain in a state
cluraticln;it ts cotlsumr:d,clestroved'
nothing is posited beyoncl clf perfi:ct immancnce: there is nevcr a necessitv, ancl
appearanccrn a rvorlcl rvhere
more generallv nothing evcr matters in thc inrmancnt
the present.
that introduces thc relation of one atom to another or to others. l'he imma-
Th.r. lI; Ilothing in animal life
hc commands' nothing ncnce of a liling organismin the lr'orld is verv diffcrcnt:
relation .,f the n-'a't-"rto the onc
on ont: side and depen- an organism secks elemt-nts ar'ound it (or outside it)
that might cstablish atttonom)'
thcv cat one another' rvhich are immancnt to it and rvith rvhich it must cstab-
,1.n.. .il the othcr' Animals' since
there is never anvthing lish (rclativclv stabilize)relatior.rs
of immancnce.Alreadv
are of ul-requal strcngth' but
diffcrcnce' Thc it is no longer like water in watcr. Or if it is, this is onlv
betrveen thcrn excepi that qttantitative
in thc movemext o[ thc providecl it managesto nourisAitself. If it docs not, it suf-
lion is not thc king o[ tht' bcasts:

l8 I9
 I'F_
f'ersancl tlies: the flow (thc immatrcntt) from tlutsirlc tcr
w'hich is organic life, onlv
insirlc, flom insitlt-to ot-ttsiclc,
las t sttn < l t' rt t' rt.ti ttto tl (l i l i ()n s '
An organism, morcover, is separatcil from processcs
that arc similar to it; cach organism is clt-tachcd from
other organisms: in this sense organic lif'c, at the samt:
timc that it acccntuatcsthe relationu'ith thc u'orld, rvith-
<lravn'slronr thc n<lrld, isolates tl'rc plant or thc animal
u'hich can thcoreticallr bc rt2arded as autonomousrvorltls'
so long as the fi.rndami'ntalrelation of nutrition is lcft
as id c .
The Poetic FallacY of AnimalitY
Nothing, as a mattcr of lact, is mrlrc closerlto us than this
animal life from u'hich rvc arc dcscentlcd.Nothing is
mort- forcign to our rvav of thinking than the' earth in the
midillc of thc silcnt uI-riverseand having neither the
mcaningthat man givcsthings,nor the meaninglessness of
things as soon as \\'c trY to imagine thcm u'ithclut a ('ol1-
sciousnessthat rcllects them. In rcalitr', \\'e can ncvcr
imaginc things rvithout consciottsncsscxccPt arbitrarilv,
rlur cotlsciotts-
since rtr artr)imaqineimplv consciousness,
ness,aclhcringindeliblv to tht:ir Prcscnce.Wc cau dor-rbt-
lcss tt-ll ourselvcs that this aclhcsionis fragile, in that n't:
nill ceaseto be there,<tnc tlav t-'t'cnlor gcxxl' But thc
appcararrccof a thing is never ctlnccivablct'xtt'pt itt a
20
consciousncsstaking the plat.e of mv consci<lusness, il
rline has rli.saltpcarccl.
This is a sinrplc trtrth, but animal
lifr', half\rav clistant fiom our consr.iousness,
pr(.scntsu.s
u-ith a morc disconcertingcnigma. In picturing the uni_
vcrsc u'ithout man, a trnir,ersein lvhich onlv the animal's
gazen.oukl bc optncrl to thing:, thc animal being neithcr
a thing nor a man, \\,c can onlv call up a l,ision in u.hich
\\'c scc nothinq,sint't' tlre objcc.tol this Visionis a nrort._
mcnt that glides from things that have no meaning br.
themselves to thc rvorld full of mcanin-qimplietl bv man
giving cach thing his ou,n. fhis is lr.hv u,e cannot clcscribc
such an objcct in a precise rrar. ()r rather, the corrcct
rvav to speako[ it (,anoverilt,onlvb<.poetic, in that poctr\.
describe.srrothing that dot'"snot .slipto*,ard thc unknou._
ablc.Just as we can speakfictir.clvof the past as if it w,crc
a present, rve spcak finally of prehistoric animals, as u,cll
as plants, rocks, and txrdies of ll,ater, as r/' thcv n.ere
thi ng:, lr t r t t o dcst r ihe a hnr lst apt , t icr l t o t h( . s( , ( ( ) n( li-
tions is only nonsense,or a poctic lcap. 'l'here u,as no
lanrl.scape in a world uhcrc the'c1,t'5that c4>encrl clirl not
apprehend u'hat the_vlookccl at, u,here indeetl, in our
terms, the cycs did not see. And if', nou,, in mv mincl's
crrnfusion,stupidlvcontemplatingthat absenceof'vision, I
begin to sal': "-l-here\.\asno r,ision,therc uas nclthing-
nothing but an en.rptvintoxication limitcd br.tcrror, su[_
f-cri ng,anr l r lcat h, nhich gar t . it a kint l , , f t hickncss. . . ',
2l
 v

vaquc to things. Somcthingternrlcr,se(.rct,anclpainful clrau.sout

I arn onlv abusinga poctic capacitl',substitutinga
thc the intin'racvrvhich keepsvigil in us, extcnclingits glim-
lulguration lor the nothing of ignorance' I knon':
mer into that animal darkness.In the c.nd,all that I can
.ur-,,lut dispensc r'r'ith a fulguration of r'vorclsthat
-ii,l its maintain is that such a r.icu, uhich plungesme into thc
nrakt's a fascinatirrghalo for it: that is its richness'
is onlv a night ancl dazzlcs r.nc, brings me cl<iseto the mclnrent
glorv, and a sign of sovereigntY.Ilut this Poctrv
uht-n - I n,ill no longcr rloubt this - thc distinct c.larity
,uuv bv u'hich a mall gocs from a uorld full of mt'aning to
u'hich of c'onsciousness
u.ill mo\.(' me thrthcst a.,l.ar',finallv, from
the tlnal clislocation of meanings' of all mt'aning'
th.rt unknorr'.1lllc
truth u'hic.l'r,trom mvst'lf to thc u.orkl,
soon proves to be unavoidable' There is olllY olrtr difler-
appcars to me onlv tcl slip ar,r'ar'.
ence l.,ettueel'rthe absur<litl' of things t-nvisagedu'ithout
is
man's gaze and that of things among which tht' animal
The Animal Is in the Wortd
or"r.rr,, it is that the tbrmt-r absurditv immcdiatcly
like Water in Water
, ug- Q.rt,to rts th t' a l )Pa r(' l )trt' tl ttcti ont' f the exa(l s(i -
I r'r'ill speak of that unknor,vablelater. For the moment, I
.',i*r,*h"reas the lattcr hantls us over to the stickl'
need to set apart frorn the da.tAcol poctry that rvhich,
tenrptation of poetrv, for, not bcing simplv a tlring, thc
from thc standpointof cxpcricncc,appcarsdistinctlv and
animal is not close<lan<l inscrutable to us' Thc animal
clearlv.
opcns before mc a depth that attracts mer and is familiar
It is I am able to sav tlrat the anintalworlcl is that of intnra-
to mc. In a sensc,I kr.rou-this depth: it is rnv orvn'
ne'nccand immercliacv,for that u'orkl, u,hich is closcrl to
also that rvhich is farthest removed lrom me, that rvhich
u.s,is .soto the extent that uc cannot <lisccrnin it an abilitv
descrves the name depth, w'hich mcans prcciserlv rfiar
to transccnditself.Srrcha truth is negative,antl rr t. rr ill n,lt
nlricl is ttnlathomablero me. But this too is poetrY' ' ' '
(if I cat it - bc able to establishit absolutelv.Wr: can at leastimagine,
lnsof'aras I can oLsoseethe animal as a thing
an cmbrvo of th.rt ability in anim.rls,but u.e cannot <li.sr.ern
in mv clun uar-, lrhich is nclt that of ancltheraniulal - or
it clearly enough. Whilc a studr.of thosc cmbrrt-rnicapti-
if I cnslareit or treat it as an obit'ct of science),its abstrrd-
turlrs can be donc, such a studl' rvill not vielclanv
itv is just as dircct (if ont' prefcrs, iust as ncar) as that of l)erspec-
tives that invalirlater
our r,ic'u'of in'rmanentanimalitv,u'hich
stonesor air, but it is not always,antl nevcr cntirch'' re-
u'ill remain unavoidablclor us.lt is orrlyu,itlrin thc limits of
rlucible to that kind of infcrior reality rvhich $c attrihute

)2
 V

bet*t-tn itsclf ancl thc u,orld. Attractir.c or distrcssing

ttr
thc human that the transccntlcnccclf things in relation phcr.ronrcnaarisc lx-fbrc it; othcr phcnomena do not cclr-
consciousncss (or of consciousncssir.rrclation to things) is
respondeither to indiriduals of the samespecies,to foo<I,
manifestt'rl.Intlecd transct'ntlcnccis ntlthing if it i: rr,t r>rto anvthingattractirt. or re
is t<i ltcllcnt, so that rvhat appears
embrvonic,if it is not constitutedas solidsare, ul'rich has no llt-aning, or is a siqn of somcthing clse. Nothing
sav,immutablv, under t'crtait.tgiven contlitirlns'In rt'alitt ' brcaksa cor.rtilruitr-inuhich fi'ar itself rloesnclt announcc.
r,.' n." incapalllcof basingtiurst'lveson lrnstahlt'ttragula- anvthing that nright bc distinguishcdbcfore being cleacl.
ti<lnsanrl\\'c must con{lnetlttrsc'lvt's ttl regardinganimalitr'
Fi rcn the f ight ing bct ucen r ir als is anot hcr convulsion
tronr the otttsirJe,in the light of an absent't'tlf transt't'n- u hcrc insubst.rntialsharlou.scnrcrqc fr-orr the inevitablc
. n a ro i tl a b l r'i,n rl ttr c \t' s ,th c ani mali s i n thc rrorl < l
r lt ' nc t' U r('sponsr-s
to stimuli. If thc anim.rlthat has brought clow.n
lik c u a tc r i n u a tc r. its rir.rl tlocslrot .lpprehendthc otht-r'sdeathasdoesa man
Thc animal has diversebcharirlrsaccorclingto diverse beharing tritrrtrpl.rantlr', this is bc-r.ause its riral hatl not
situatious.Tht'st'bchar'iclrsarc thc startingpoints ftrr prl*- bnrkcn a contiltuitv that thc rival'srlt-athdoestrot recstab-
sible rlistinctions,but distingtrishingivould clemantlthe l i sh. ' l -his cont inuit v r r . ls not callcd int o qucst ion, but
transccndenceof the objcct havirrglrecomc <listinct.Thc r.rthcr tl.rcirlcntitr of dcsircsof tu o heingss(,tolte ag.rinst
(otl-
rlirt-rsitYof .rnimarlbehaviclrsdot's trot cstablishan\' tht'other in mortal combat.-fhc apathr.thatthc gazcof the
'fhe ani-
sciousclistir.rctionamonq tlre clir.crscsitttations.
animal cxprcssesaftcr thc combat is the sign of an exis-
mals lr.'hich clo not eat a f-ello* crcature of tl'rc sanre tencetha t is essent iallr . on a lcvcl nit h t hc uor ld in uhich
speciesstill do ttclthave thc.rbilitY tcl recogtrizeit as strch' i t moveslike nat cr in uat cr .
so that a nc$, situation, in $'hich the trclnnalllch.rviclris
not triggcrt-cl,mav suflicc to removc an cltrstacle$'ithclttt
thcre being an a\\'arcn('ssclf its h.rvirlg llt-cn rt'ntor.cd' Wc
cannot sav conccrning a $cllf $hich c'rts itl()thL-r \\()lf
that it r,iolatesthc la$. dccrt-cing that or<lirlarilYrr',1r.'s,1o
not eat oneanother.It cloesnot Yiolatethis la$'; it h'rssim-
ph' fbunclitself in circumstancesrvhcre thc l'rrv rro l'rngcr
applics.In spite clf this, thcrc is, frrr tlre uolf, a cotrtinttitl'

25
)1
V

Culr,rln ll

Humanity and the Development

of the Profane World

I-or thc momcnt, I rr ill not trv to gir.e thc fbregoing a

firmcr support. What I har,esaiclimplics an excursionof
the intcllcct outsidt' the domain of the cliscontinuousu.hit.l.r
i s at l e.rs tit s pr ivilcgccldom ain. I uish t o passr r it hout
firrther clc.lavto that solid milicu on lr'hich.r,r'cthink rrc
can rclt'.

The Positing of the Object: The Tool

Thc positingof thc otrject,rvhich is not givcn in anirnalitv,
is in thc human ust-of tools; that is, if the tools as middle
terms are adaptcd to thc intendecl rcsult - if thcir uscrs
perflcct them. Insofar as tools arc der,elopcd rvith thcir
end in vicw, consciousnessposits them as objects, as
interruptions in thc indistinct continuitv. The clcrelopccl
tool is thc nascentfbrm o[ thc non-|.
J'hc tool brings extcriority into a rvorlcl u,here the:

t/
 V
lr'hcre
subject has a part in thc elcmcnts it distinguisl'res,
it has a part in the u'orld and rcmains "likc r'r'ater in
watcr." Therelcment in u'hich the subjt'cthas .r part - thc
urrrkl, an animal, a plant - is not subordinatc<l to it (likc-
nisr', thc sutrjec'tcanncttlle subortlinated,in an immt-tli'rtt'
scnsc,to thc elemcnt r'rith u'hich it sharcs).But thc tool
is subortlinatedto thc man u'h<lusesit, u'ho can mt"lif\
it as he plcasc-s,in vit'u of a llartitr.rlarr.-tttlt.
'fhe tool has no valuc in itself-likc thc subit'tt, or the
u'orkl, or the elcme'ntsthat are tlf tht' samc traturc as tht'
subjcc't rlr thc u'<trld - Lrut onh in relation trl an antici-
pated result. Thc time spent in making it directlv estab-
lishes its utility, its subordination to the one u'ho uses it
u,ith an enil in vicrv, and its subordination to this cnd; at
thc' samc time it establishcsthe clear distinction betu'een
thc end and thc mcans ancl it flocs so in the very ternns
that its apPcarancehas tlerflncd.Unfortunatelv thc end is
thus given in terms of the means, in terms of utilitl'' This
is one of the most remarkablc and most lateful aberra-
tions of language.Thc pr'rrposcof a tool's usc ahvaYshas
thc same meaning as the tool's usc: a utility is assignedt<l
it in turn and so on. The stick digs the ground in ordcr
to ernsurethe grou'th of a plant; thc plant is cultivatcd in
order to be caten; it is catcn in order to maintain the life
of thc one u'ho cultivates it. ' . . Thc absurdity of an cnd-
less cleferral only iustifies thc equivalent absur<litv of a
28
ND T HF PNOF ANE W ORID
truc cnrl, n'hich r,r'ouklscn,t' no purposc. What a ,,truc
encl" rcintrocluc.esis the continuous bcing, lost in the
lvorltl likc uatcr is lost in uatcr-:or clsc,if it u.erea bt,ing
as rlistinc'tas a tool, its meaning w.cluklhavc to bc sought
on thc plane of utilitv, of thc tcxrl;it u.or-rltlno longcr be,
a " truc cn<l. "O nlv a uor ld in ulr ich t ] r c bcingsan, in<lis_
criminatclv lost is snpcrfluous, scrvcs no purposc, has
nothing to clo, and means nothing: it onlv has a value in
itself, not u'ith a vicvr.to somethingelsc,this othcr thing
fbr still another anrl so on.
Tl-rcobject, on tl'rc contrar\,, has a mr:arringthat breaks
the undiff-crentiatcdcontinuitv, that stan<lsoppost,cltcr
i mmanen ct 'or t o t l'r c1lolr . of all t hat is * uhich it t r ans_
cencls.It is strictlv alien to the subject, to the self still
immcrsetl in immanenc.e.It is thc subjcct'spropcrtv, thc
sul'rjcct'sthing, btrt is nrxrethclessimperviousto thc subiect.
'l'he
perf-cct- c.omplcte,clear and distinct - knon.l-
cdge that thc subjt'cthasof the object is entirelv extcrnal;
it rcsults fiom manulhcturc;* I knou, uhat the obiect I
xAs ont'(an secr I havc
placcd thr tool antl the manulacturt,rl otrjt,r.t
on thc samc planc, the rcason being that the tool is first of all a n.ranu_
l acture<lobjt,tt anrl , t.onv ers c h,a manul ac turc rlobj ec t i s i n a tr.rtai r.r
scnsc a tool . Thc onh.means of frec i ng thc manul htturerl obj ec t l rom
the servilitv of thc tool is art, unrlerstoorl as a trut, cn<I. llut art itself
rkrt'sn.t as a the.bj ett i t emhel l i s hc sfi om bei ng us t' tl frrr
^rl t' prc rt' nt
29
 F

ND IHE PROFANE WORLO

havc made is; I can makc anothcr onc likc it, but I w'ould appeared(as if thcy \\,erc comparable to thc digging stick,

not be able to make another being like me in the r'r'avthat or thc chippcd stone) clemcntsthat u.erc anclnonetheless

a rvatchmaker makcs a u'atch (or that a man in the "age remained continuous rvith thc w,orld, such as animals,

of the rein<lccr" madc a bladc of sharp stone), and as a plants, other men, and finallv, thc subject determining

matter of fact I don't knorv w'hat thc being is that I am, itsclf.'fhis means in clthcr uorrls that r.r'cclo not knou.

nor do I knorv r,r'hatthc I'r'orld is and I u'ould not bc ablc ourselr.esdistincdv ancl clearly until the clay u,c scc our-

to producc another one by anY means. selvcs from the outsicle as anothcr. Moreoverr, this rvill
'fhis t-xtcrnal knou'ledge is perrhapssupcrficial' but it clcpendon our first having rlistinguishccl
thc other on the
plane u.hcre manufactured things have appearcrl to us
alone rs capableof rctlucing man's clistancefrom the tlb-
jccts that it dctermint's.It makcsof thcse'objects, although rlistinctly.
is ncart'st antl most This bringing of clcments of the same naturc as thc
thev remain r'lost-dto us, that lvhich
strbject,or the subject itsclfl onto thc planc of objects is
to us.
t.rr.r'riliar
aluavs prt'carious,unccrtain, and uncvcnlv rcalizerl.But

The Positing of Immanent Elentents this rel.rtire prccariousncss

mattcrs lcss than thc dec.isivc

in the Sphere of Objects possibilitvo[ a r.ier.r'point

from u'hich the imnranentcle-

The positing of thc objcct knou'n clearlY ancl distinctlv mcnts are pe'rceivccllrclm the ontside .rs objt'cts. ht the

from without gcnerallv defines a sphcre of objects, a cncl, w'e pcrceive each appcarance- subjcct (ourst-lr.es),

u'orld, a planeron vi'hich it is possible to situatc clcarlv animal, mincl, u'orld - from u'ithin an<lfirrr-nuithotrt .rt

and clistinctl], at lcast so it appcars,that rvhich in theory the same timc, bclth as cclntinuity, \,\,ithrespc(.rro our-

cannot be knou'n in the samc rvay. Thus, having deter- selvers,

ancl as ob;ect.*

minccl stablerand simple things rvhich it is pt-rssiblcto Language clcfines, from one plane to the other, the

makc, mcn situatcd on the same plane u'herc the things category of subject-object, of the subject considcred
objectir,elv,clcarly and clistinctly knou,'n from the outsidt-

this or that: a houst-,a table, or a garment are no ltss uscful than a ham-
*Oursel re suhat
: ex i s tc nti alphi l os ophv < al l s ,aftc r H egel ,./i r rrs ef
Dtcr. Ferv indccd art, the objects that har,ethe r,irtue of serving tro lunc-
thc ofrj ect i s t t' rmerl , i n tht,s amt,rotabul arl , tn i ts c l l .
t i u n in tltt , t. l. ,,f u st ftr l ,r ttivilr ' .

l0 ll
insolar as this is possiblc.But ar-robjcctivitv of dris nature,
clcar as to the scparatepositing of onc element, rcm.ritts
confuscd: that elemcnt kceps all tl'rcattributcs of a subicct
anclan objcct at thc sametinrc. Thc transccndctrceof'thc
tool and thc crcative facultv connectcd r'r'ith its usc are
confr.rscdlv attributt-tl to dre ar.rimal, tl-rc plant, tlrc
meteor; thcv are also attributcd to thc t-ntire u'orld.*
The Positing of Things as Subjects
'Ihis first confirsionbeing cstablisht'd,a planc of'subjcc'ts-
objects being delincd, the tool itself can be placcd on it if
ncetl lrc. 'l'he objcct that the tool is can itsclf bc regarclcd
as a subject-obicct.It then reccivcsthe attributcs of thc
subjcct anrl takes its place rlc:xt to those aninrals,thosc
plants, those mctc<)rs,or those mcn that the objcct's
transcendcnce,asc'ribedto them, u'ithdrar.r'sfrorr thc con-
tinuum. It bccclmcscontinuousu'ith respectto thc rlorlcl
xThis last mr.rddlcis probablv the most turious one. If I trv to graslr
uh a t n r \ th o u g lr t is d csig n a tin ga t th c Iroment rrht'n i t takestl i e,trrrl <l
as its o b je ct, o n ce th t- a b su r d itvo fth e *orl tl as a seP arateobj t'tt, as a
rfirnc analogous to thc manul,rtttrreti-rnanufattttring tool, has l>t't'n
fb llcr l, th is u o r l< l r t' m a in s in m e a s that ronti nui tr from i nsi tl t'to out-
sitlt' , iio n r o tttsitlt' ttt in sitle ,u h ith I harc l i tral l r ]tr,l ttt tl i stol tt': I tatl -
n o t in la ct a scr ih cto su b je ctivitvth c li mi t o{ rnvscl for of httman sel rts;
t r r it it ir r Jr ) \ \\a \
I c.r r r r r o lir
)l
as a u' hok'llr t it r cm ainsscpar at ( 'asit r r as in t ht 'm int l
of thc ont 'uho nr ar lcit : at t hr m ( r r ( 'lt t t l. r atsuit shim , a
nran can rt'gard this objcct, an arro\\'sa\', as his fcllou
lrt'ing, u ithout taking au al tl'rc oltcrativc ltou cr anrl
transc'cntlcnc'cof tht' arro\\. Ont' r'ou]rl t'\'('n sav that an
objcct thus transposc'tlis not rlitiert'nt, in tht' irlagirration
of thc onc uho c'onceilcsit , f i'onruhat he him sclfis: t his
arro\\, i rr his eves, is r apablt ' of act ing, t hinking, anr l
spcakinglikc hirl.
The Supreme Being
If rrc norv picture mtn cor.rcciving
thc uorkl ir.rthc light
of an cxistcnce that is continuous (in relation to thcir
intimac'r',tht'ir rlccp subjcitivitr'), uc must alsclpcrceirc
the nccd for them to .rttributc to it thc r,irtucso1'a thirrq
"t'apableol'at'ting, thinking, ancl s1>caking"
(just as m(.n
rlo). In this rcduction to a rfiinq, thc uorld is gircn both
thc fornr of isolat t 'cl
in<lir idualit var r r lcr eat ivcpr lucr . But
this pcrsonallv rlistinct po\\'cr has at thc samc tirnc thc
Jil'lnc charactt'r oi a pt'rsonal,indistinct, and inrntanclrt
existcnce.
In a scnsc, thc r.r'orl<lis still, in a lundamcntal uar',
imr.nancnccrvithor-rta clcar limit (an inrlistinct flolv of
bt'ing into bc'inq- <lncthinks of tht'r-rnst.rl,lc
prt's,'nccof
satcr i n u at er ) . S<it hc p<isit ing,in t ht ' uor lt l, o[ 'a "su-
prcmc l rcing, " t list inr t anr l linr it ct l likt 'a t hing, is f lr st ol'
ti
 -
Thcrt' is tloutrtless,in tht' invcn-
all an impovcrishrncr-rt.
tior"rof a supreme bt'ing, a clctt'rmirrationto rlc{ltri' a valile
that is grcater than anv othcr. But tl'ristlt'sirt ttr itttrt'ast'
rtsults in a diminution. The objt-ctivcpcrsonalitvof thc
sul)rcme bcing situates it in thc 'uvorlrlnext to other per-
sonal bcings of the samc lratllrc, subjectsantl objt'cts at
thc samt'time, like it, but fronr u'hich it is clearlvclistitrct.
Mcn, animals, plants, hcavcnlv bodies, mt:tcors.. . . If
thrsc arc' at thc sarnt' titlc things and intimatc bcings,
thrv can bc cnvisaqcrlnextto a suprem(-bcing ol this tvpc,
u'hich, likc thc others, is in thc rvorl<I,is cliscontinuous
likc tht' othcrs. The^reis no ultimatc equalitr' Irt'tn'cen
thcm. Bv clefinition,the supreme being has the highest
rank. Btrt all are of the sarnekind, in r'vhichimman.'n...'
and pcrsonalitvare rlingled; all can l>c,/ilinean<lcncloucd
u'ith an opcrative po\\'(:r; all can spcak thc language of
thcv basicallvlinc up on
man. Thus, in spitc of cr.'ervthing,
a planc of cqualitv.
I am obligcd to ernphasizcthis aspcctof trnintcntional
impovcrishmcnt and limitation: nolr'atlavs('hristians rkr
not ht'sitateto rcc'ognizcin tlrc various"suprt'mt:btings"
of uhicl-r "primitivt's" hare kept somc mclnorv, a first
clf the God thcv be'licr.ein, but this nascent
consciousness
\\'as not a blossomingfbrth; on thc corr-
consciousness
trarv, it u'as a kinrl of u't-akcningof an animal sctrsc'u'ith-
ollt coml)cnsatiotr.
34
The S acr ed
All pcoples har c cloubtlessc'onceived this suprcme bcing.
but tht' opcration secmsto have failed cvcryu'hcre.1'hc
suprcmc being apparentlvrlid not have rn\. prestrgccom-
parablcto that rvhich the God of thc Jeu,s,and later that
of the Christians,r.r'asto obtain. As if thc opr-rationhacl
takc'rrplacc at a timc u'hen thr scnsc of continuitt' uas
too strong, as if the ar.rirnal
or divine continuitr. of lir.ing
beings r,r'ith thc lr.orld harl at first sccmcd limitcd,
irnpor.erishedbv a lirst clumsy attempt at a rccluctionto
an objcctir.c indiviclualitv. 'fheri: is everv indication that
the first mcn wcre closcr than \\'e are to thc animal s.orld;
thcv distinguishedthc animal from thernsrlvcs1>crhaps,
but not uithout a fceling of rloubt mixed r,r'ithterror and
longing. The senset>fcontinuitl that u,c must attribute to
animalsno longer irnprcsscditself on the mind une.cprir,o-
callv (the positing of distinc'tobjccts u'as in fat't its nt'g;r-
tion). But it had c.lerivcda ne\\' significancefrom the
(ontrast it (brrncd to thi' u'orltl of things. This continuitt',
u'hich fbr the animal could r.rot bc. distinguisheri frorn
anvthing clse,w,hichuas in it ancllbr it thc onlv possible
mode of being, olferecl man all the lascination of the
sacred u'clrlcl, as against the por.crtv of the pr<lfanc tool
(of the discontinuousobiect).
-l'l'rc sense of thc' sacrcclobr iotrslv is not that of thc
animal krst in the n"ristsof cclntinuity w'herc nothing is
t5
 7
(listinct. In thc first plac'e,uhile it is truc thal the confu-
sion has not tcast'd in thc' utirld tlf tnists, thc lattt'r tltr
opposc an opaque aggregatcto a clear uorld. This aggrc-
gatc appearsdistincdv at thc boundan of that u'hich is
t'xtcrnallr', lrom that
clear: it is at least <listinguishabler,
rvhich is clcar. Morcor-cr,thc animal acccptetlthe imma-
nence that submergctl it u ithor.rt appar('tlt Protest,
rr,hcrcasman fccls a kind of impott'nt hrlrror in the scrrse
of drt' sacrctl. This horror is ambiguotrs.Utrdoubtc<llr''
uhat is sacrcd attracts an<l posscsscsan incomparatlle
valut',but at thc sarnctimt' it aPPcarsr crtiginotrslvdangt'r-
ous firr th.rt clcar anrl prolanc n orltl u hcrc r.nankindsittr-
. r t t ' ri ts p ri r i l t' g ttl tl t,m a i n .
T he Sp i ri ts a n d th e Go d s
Thc cqualitr anclinec;ualitvof thcse variouscxistenccs,all
oppclscclto the rhingsthat pure objccts are, n'soh,'esintcl
a hierarchv of .ipirit.i.Mcn ancl thc suprcnre bcing, trr.rt
also, in a lirst reprcscntation,animals,plants,lllctcor.\. . .
arc spirits. A scale is built into this conccption: thc
a ptlrc spirit; similarlv, the
supr(-mebcing is in a st-t'tst'
spirit of a dc'adman docs not depi:nclon a clear matcrial
rcalitv like that of a living one; finallv, the connecticinof
t he a n i ma l o r p l i rn t s p i ri t (o r th e l i kt' ) ui th.rn i ndi ri cl tral
animal or plant is vcrv vagu(':such spirits are rnvthical-
inrlepcndcnt of the givcn rt'alitics. LIr.rclerthcse condi-
1 t)
IlUMANITY AND TFIE PROIANE W(JRL D
tions, thc hierarchv of spirits tcnds to bc basctl on a
lirnrlar.cntalclistinc'tirl.be'tr'r.cnspirits trrat <repc'ti cln a
bodv, likc thosc of mt-n, ancl tht, autonomous spirits of
the supremc being,of animals,of dead pccplt,,.rnd so olr,
u,hich tcnd to ftrrnr a honr<igeneousrvorkl, a mvthical
.,r.orld,u'ithin u'hich thc hierarchical
cliffe,rcncesarc usu_
allv slight. Thc suprcme bcing, thc sovcrtign rlcitr, the
god of heavcn, is generallr. onlv a morc po\\,crful gorl of
thc' samc naturc as thc clthcrs.
Thc gotls are sinrplvmvtltical spirits,u.ithor-rtanv sub_
stratum of rcalitv. 'l-he spirit that is not sulror<linatcdto
thc realitl,of a mortal bodl is a gocl,is purclv drrjnc(sa_
credl. Insofhr as hc is himself a spirit, nran is dilinc
(sacred),but he is not su1trt.,r,"l,,,,, sirr.,..hc is rcal.
The Positing of the World
of Things
and of the Bodv as a Thing
With thc positing of a thing, ar-robjcc.t,a tool, an im1>lc_
lnent, or of a <lomain of objcc.ts(u.hcrc thc r,arious
cocqualsof thc subject itst'lf assumean objcr.tir.evaluc),
tht'u'orkl in uhich rrlcn movr- abor-rtis still. in a lirnrla_
mental \\'av,a contir-ruitvfrorn thc subject'spoint of r,icrr,.
But thc unreal u,orltl of sorcrcign spirits or gorls estab_
lish<.srcalitr', r,vhichit is not, as its r.ontrarr. 'l'he rcalitr.
of a prol .r nc uor ll, , r l a u, r r lt l of t hing, . n, l l, o. li, . r ,ir
establishetloppositc a lrolv arr<lmt.thir.alu.orkl.
J1
 HIJMANITY AND TI]t Pf]OFAI!E WORI D

Within the limits of continuitv, er,crvthingis spiritual; The Eaten Animal, the Corpse,

tht'rt' is no opposition o[ the minrl an<lthe boclv.]lut thc and the Thing

positing of a norld of mvthical spirits anrl the suprcme The definition of thc animal as a thing ltas bccomc a basic

raluc it reccivt'sarc naturallv linkcd to thc tlcfinition of hurnangir cn. 'l'hr : anint all'r asl<lstit s st at t t sas t nan'sf el-

thc mortal bodv as lrcing opposcd to thc mintl. l'ht' dif- lou c'rcaturc,an<lman, pt'r<'ciringthe anirnalitvirr hin'r-

fc'rt'nccbctu.ern thc mind ancl thc borlr. is b\, no means sclf, rcgardsit as a detect.Thcrc is uncloubtctllva measurc

thc sameas that bct*ecn continr.ritv(imnrancnce) and thc of falsitv in thc fit't of rt'gartlingthc animal as a thing. An

objcct. ln thc first immanence,no differcnce is possiblc arrimal exists fbr itself ancl in ortk'r to lrc a thinq it must
'fhus
bt'fbrt' thc positing of tbc manufhcturc'dtool. Likorise, br rlcarl or (lorncsticatcd. tlrt' catcn animal can bc

n'ith thc positing of the suhject on the planc ol obiccts (of posite'das an obicct onlv provided it is catcn clcatl.Inclcc<l
thc' subject-objrct),thc mind is r.rotvet distinct fnrm thc it is f'ullva thing onlr in a ro.rstcd,grillctl, or boilcrl fbrm.

botlr'. C)nlv starting lrom thc mlthical represcntationof Morcovcr, thc prc'parationof mcat is not primaril)' c<ln-

autonomousspirits doestl-reborlv fin<litsclf on thc sirlcof r-rcctt'rlu.'ith a gastronomical ltursuit: bt'lbre that it has tcr

things, insofhr as it is not pr(.sentin sovt-reignspirits.-l'hr. rlo uith thc lact tltat nr.ruclot'sttot t'.rtanvthing beforehc

rcal u'orld rcmainsas a residuumof thc birth <.rfthc divinc l'rasmarlc an objcc't of it. At ltrast in cirtlinan tirt'um-

rvorld: rcal animals and plants separatctl f rclm thcir stanct-s,matl is atr animal tlrat <lot'stl<lthtrred fdrr itl tllJt

spiritual truth skrlr'lvrcjoin the cmptr. objcctivitr.of tools; nhi ch h t 'eat s. But t o kill t hc anit 'nalan<lalt cr it as ot t t '

thc mortal bodv is grarlu.rllvassimilatcdto thc nrassof plcascsis trot tltrelv to chartgeirtto a thing tlrat uhich
things. Insofaras it is spirit, thc human realitl' is holr', but tloubtlessu'as not a thing from tlrt-start; it is to tlefinc the

it is profinc insofaras it is rcal. Animals,plants,tools, an<l aninral as a thinq bciirrehantl.Cotlcerning that u'hit'h I

otht'r controllablc things firrrn a rcal rvorkl u'ith the kl l l , uhi ch I cut up, uhich I cook, lim plicit lv alf ir r n t hat

borlicsthat control them, a uorlil subjcc'tto anrl tralcrse<l rfiar has ncvt'r bt'en anvthing ltut a thing. Tcl titt u1l,took.

lrr' <livinr'fortcs. brrt fallen. an<lt'.rt a nlan is on tht' c()ntrarvatrominalllc'.It dciesno

harm to anvonc;in fhct it is clftcn unrcastlnablt'notto do
son.rcthinguith nran. Yct thc studr rlf attatomt t'cast'dt<r
onlv a shrtrt tirlc ago. Antl clcspit.'al)l)(ar-
bc scan<lalotts

Jc)
l8
 7

\flLl T lrE PH()f.\fJE W ORI D

ances,('\'enharclcnc<l
materialistsarc still so religiousthat
The Worker and the TooI
in thcir eversit is alu'at'sa crimc to make a ntan into a
Generallvspcaking,thc uorlrl of things is pcrc.civcrlas a
t hing - a ro a s t, a s l e \\.... In a l t\' (' A sc,tht' htrntan atti -
fillcn rrorkl. It t'ntails tht, alit-nati<lnof tht, ont, u.hcr
tr-rclctorlard thc lro<lr is fbrmirlablv compler. Insolar as
crcatc<lit.'l'his is thc basi<princ.iplc:to sr-rborrlinatc
is r-rot
he is spirit, it is man's misfortunc to have the bcldvof an
onlv to alte.rdrc subordinateilclcmcnt but to bt. altcrcrl
animal and thus to bc like a thing, but it is thc glorv of
onesclf. The tool c'hangesnaturc an<l nran at the same
tht' hutnan bodv to be thc substratumof a spirit. Anrl tht'
timc: it subjugatcsnatLrr('torran, uho rnakcsantl uscsit,
spirit is so closelv linkcd to the bodv as a thing that thc
but it tics man to subjugatcd nature. Naturc becomt,s
botlv ncr,cr ccascsto bc hauntc<|,is ner,era thing ('xccpt
man's prclpertr.but it ccascsto bc imnrancntt<l hinr lt is
v ir t u a l l r' ,s o m u c h s o th a t i l rl t' a th rccl uctsi t to thc con-
hi s on c'ont lit iont hat it is r . lost 'rtlo hir . n.I f hc placcst he
r lit io n o f a th i n g , th c s p i ri t i s n rc l rt' prcstntthan cvcr: tht'
uorl i l i n lr is poucr , t his is t <l t hc cxt t . nt t lr at ht , f br gct s
bodv that has betraverl it reveals it more clearlv than
that hc is himsclf the r.r,orlcl:
hc rlenicstht' u'orltl but it is
u'hcn it sen'e<lit. Irr a st.nscthc ('orpscis thc most com-
himst'lf that hc dcnics. Ercrvthing in n.rvpou.cr rlcrlart,s
ple'tc allinnation of the spirit. What dcath's dL.finitilc'
that I havc conrpclle<lthat uhich is ccltralto m(,no longer
impcltenccand abscnccrcvcals is the r,erv csst'nccof thc
to exist firr its rtun purposebut ratht'r fbr a purp<lscthat
spirit, just as thc sr.rcamof thc onc that is killed is the
is alicn to it. Thc purpos('of a plou' is alien to thc rcalitv
suprcmc aflirmation clf lifc. Convcrsclv, man's corpse
tlrat constitutts it; anrl rrith grcater rcason, the slrnt. is
rcvt'als thc c'omplctc reilucticln of thc animal boclr',an<l
true of a grain of u,hc.rtclr a calf. If I .rtc t[rt' u.heator the
thcrclbrc ther living animal, to thinghoorl. In thqrrv thc
cal f i n an anim al uar ', t ht 'r . uoukl also bc r lir cr t t t l f r <lm
bodr, is a strictlv subordinatcclcmcnt, u,hich is of ncl ccln-
thcir oun purposr-,btrt thev lrould be surklcnh.rlcstrovcrl
s('qu('nc('fbr itst'lf - a trtilitv of thc samt-naturt' Ascanvas,
as n' ht' atan<l. r scalf . At no t im r : uoult l t lr c uheat an<lt hc
inrn, or lurnber.
calf bc thc rhinqsthat thtr art' front tht. start. The grain
of 'nvl'rcat
is a unit clf a-qri.ulturalproduction; thc c.rlu is a
hcaclof livcstock,and tht onc u'ho cultir,atcsthc u hcat is
a larmcr; thc ont' n ho raiscsthc stccr is a stock raist'r.
Nou', during thc tirnc rvlrcn ht'is cultirating, thc tirmcr's

10 +l
 Y

CHAr''rr-u I I I
pu1x)se is not his orvn PurPosc' antl during thc tirnc
uhcn hc is tcntling the stock, tht: purpost' of thc stock
Sacrifice, the Festival, and the
raist'r is not his o\\'n PurPosc.Thc agricultural proclutt
ancl the'livestock arc things, ancl the thrmt'r rlr thc stock
Principles of the Sacred World
raist'r,<luringtht- tinlt' thev arc uorking, arc alsclthirlgs'
All this is forcign to the immancnt immcnsitv, uhcrt'
thcre arc neithcr separationsnor limits. In the clcgret'that
he is the immancnt it'nmcnsitv,that hc is bcing, that he is
o/ thc norlcl, man is a stratrgerfbr himst'li. Thc farmcr is
not a man: hc is tht' plou' of the onc u.ho t-atsthc breacl'
The N e ed That I s M et
At the limit, thc act of thc eatcr himst-llis alrcatlvagricul-
by Sacrifice and Its Principle
tural labor, to uhich hc furnishcstht' cncrgv.
Thc flrst fruits of the harvcst or a he.rclof livestock arc
sacritlccdin <lr<lerto rcmove the plant and the animal,to-
gctl-ri'r r,r,ith thc lhrmer and thc stock raiser, from thc
r'vorld of things.
The principle of sacrifice is dcstruction, but though it
sometimesgoes so fhr as to destroy completely (as in a
holocaust),thc dcstruction that sacrillce is intcnded to
bring about is not annihilation.Thr- thing - onlv thc thing
- is u'hat sacrillcenreansto destrol' in thc victim. Sac-
rilic'e dcstror-san objcct's real tics of sr-rbrtrdination;
it
<lraus thc victim out <lf the world <l['utilitv and restclres
it to that of unintelligiblccaprice.Wht'n thc ofli'rerl ani-
mal entcrs tht'cirr'le in uhich thc prit'st u,ill immolatr-it,
it passesfrom the u'orlcl of things u'hich are closcclto

12
+J
 Y
lnan an(l arc nothinq to hirn, u'hich hc knous lrom thc
outsi<le- to the uorld that is immancnt to it, inrimrite,
knoun as the r'r'if'eis knor'r'n in scxual consunrption (con-
This assLrmes
sumotioncharnelle\. that it has ccasctlto bc
separatedfrclm its oun intimacv, as it is in the subclnli-
n.rtion of labor. Thc s.rcriflct'r'sprior separation tl'clr.ntl.re
rrrlrlcl of things is n('(('ssarlfilr thc rcturn to intlnrocl,of
immanence betuccn man anrl the r,rorltl. bctrrccn thc
subjcctanclthe object.The sacriflc'crnct-dsthc sacrifict'in
orler to scparatchimsclf lrom thc u'orltl of things anrl
thc victim could not bt' separatcd from it in turn if the
sacrificerllas not alrea<lvscparatcdin arlvance.The sac'-l
riflcer <lec'larcs:"/nfinrotelr',I belong to the sorcrt'iqn
uclrld clf the go<lsand t.nvths,to the uorlcl o[ r'iolcr.rtanrl
uncalculatcdgcncrositr',iust as my u if'c bckrr-rgs to mv
rlt-sircs.I u'ithdrau vr>u,rictim, from tht' uorlrl in uhich
\:'ou \\'crL' and could onlr. be rccluc'cclto thc contlition of
a thing, having a mcaning that uas fbreign to vour inti-
mate natllrc. I call roLr back to the rntlmocro[ thc rlivinc
rvorld, of the profounrl irnmanenccof all that is."
T he U n re a l i tv o f th e D i v i n e W orl d
Of coursc this is a mcrnolrigucand thc victim can ncithe-r
understand nor replv. Sacrifice essentiallvturns its back
on rcal rclations.If it took them into account,it rvoul<lgo
against its or,r,nnatur(', rvhich is prccisclv thc oppositc of
+4
that urrrlcl of things on u.hich clistinc'trealin is founded.
It could not derstrovthc animalas a thing u'ithout denving
the animal's objcctive realit,v.This is rvhat gives thc lr,orld
of sacrifice an appcarancc of puerilc gratuitousness.But
onc cannot .rt the sametimc destro_l'
tlrc valuesthat fbund
rcality an<laccePt thcir limits. The rcturn to immanent
intimacr implies a becloudcd consc'ir>usncss:
conscious-
ncss is tierl to thc positing of objects as such, graspccl
clirectlv, apart from a vaguc pcrception. bevclnd thc
alrvavsunrcal imagesof a thinking bascclon participation.
The Ordinarv Association
of Death and Sacrifice
of sacrific'ct'r'engocs so far
The pucrilt' unt'onscir>ust.tt'ss
that killinq al)])carsas a \\'a\'of rcrlrcssingthc rvr,rngdontl
to thc aninral, miscrablv rccluct'clto thc c'onclitionof a
thing. As a matter of flact,killing in tlrc litcral st:nsris not
ncccssary.lJut the greatcst ncgation <lf'the real ordcr is
the onc most favorablcto thc appcaranceof thc mvthical
ordcr. Morcovt'r, sacrificial killing rcsolrcs thc painliLl
antinomv <lf life and dcath [rl' mcans <lf a reversal.In fact
death is nothing in immanc:nce,but becauseit is nothing,
a being is ncver trulv scparateclfronr it. llecauscclc-athhas
no meaning, bccause-
tht're is no diffr:rcncc bertrvecnit and
Iifc, and tht're is no fear of it or dcfcnsc against it, it
invaclcsevcrlthing rvithout giving rise to any rcsistancc.
.t :)
l)uration ceascsto haveranl. r,aluc, or it is there only in
ordcr to produce thc morbid <lt:lcctationof anguish.On
thc contrarv, thc objective anrl in a scnsc transccndcnt
(relativeto thc subjcct)positingof thc u'orld of things has
cluration as its floundation:no thinq in fact has a separat(]
existcncer,has a mcaning, r-rnlcssa subsequenttime is
positecl,in vicw. of lr.hich it is constitutcd as an objcct.
'l'hc objcct is <lcfinctl
as an clpcrativcpou,erronly if its
rluration is implicidl' untlcrstoo<I.If it is destroverias foorl
or fucl is, thc eatcr or thc manulbctured object prcservcs
its value in cluration;it has a lasting purpose likc coal or
breacl. Futurt' time constitutcs this real rvclrlclto such a
tlegreethat death no longcr has a placc in it. But it is for
this ver1.reason that dcath mcans cventhing to it. The
(thc contradiction) of the r.vorlclof things is that
r,ve-akncss
it imparts an unrcal characterrto clcathcvernthough man's
membership in this w.orltl is ticcl to the positing of thc
bodv as a thing insofar as it is mortal.
As a mattcr of fact, that is a sr-rpcrficialr ieu . What has
no placc in thc n,orkl of things, n.hat is unreal in thc real
lr'orld is not cxactlv rlcath. I)eath actuallr.discloscsthc
imposturc of rcalitv, not onlr. in thrt thc alrrcnccof tlura-
tion givcs the lie to it, but abovc all be'causc
rlcath is tht,
grcat affirmcr, thc u'ondcr-struck cn of lifc. Thc real
order does not so rnuch rcjcct thc ncgationof lifc that is
death as it rejccts thc aflinnation of intimate lifi., r,vhcise
46
mcasurclcssviolcncc is a danger to thc stabilitt'of things,
an afflnnation that is fulh,rocalccl onlv in death.Thc real
orrkrr must annul - nt'trtralizt'- that intimatc lilc an<l
rcplacc it u'ith thc thing drat thc- inclir.iclualis in thc
societvof labor. lJut it canncltprcr,cntlife's ditappcarancc
in dcath from rocaling thc inli.sihle brillianct:of life that
is ncrt a thing. 'I'he po\ver of rleath significs that this real
rvorlcl can onlv har,c a neutral image.of lifc, that lif'c's
intimacv docs not rt'r't'al its dazzling consr.rmptionuntil
the moment it gives out. No onc knt'u.it r'r,asthcrc lvhern
it',r'as;it uas or,crlookt-din thvclrof real things:dcath r,r'as
onc rcal tl-ring among others. llut rleath sucklenlv sh<lrvs
that thc rcal sociertvwas lving. l'ht'n it is not thc loss of
thc thing, of the usefulmr:mber,that is taken into consid-
eration. What the real socit'tv has lost is not a member
but rather its truth. That intimate llf-e,u'hich hacllost thc
abilitv to full.vrcach mc, xhich I rcgarclcclprimarilv as a
thing, is firllv rcstorc-d to mv scr-rsibilitvthrough its
atrscncc.l)cath rcvcals lif'c in its plcnituclcand dissolr,cs
thc rt'al order. I lenccfirrth it rnatt('rs verv littlc that this
rcal order is the ncr'<llbr the rluration of that u.'hichn<r
longer cxists. When an clcmcnt cs('apcsits tlcmanrls,
u'hat rcmainsis not an cntitv that sr-rf}i'rs
bt'rcavcment;all
at on(c that cntitr', the rcal onlcr, hascomplctclv dissipatcd.
'fhcrt'is no morc
qucstion of it and uhat clcathbrings in
tt'arsis thc trst'lcss of the intimatc ortler.
c<lrrsumotion
41

It is a naivc opinion that links dcath closclvto sorrou..
'l'hertcars of the lir ing, n,hich respond
to its r.oming,arc
themsclvesfhr from lraring a mcalringoppositcto jov. Far
fronr bcing sorroulirl, thc tcars arc the cxprcssionof .r
kccn au,arcncssof sharedliie graspcdin its intimacv. It is
truc tlrat this auart.ncss is nt'r'r'r keener than at thc
momcnt r'r'hcnab.senr:e
.suclrlcnlv
rcplaccsprcst'nce,as in
rleath or mere sr.paration.Anrl in this casc, thc con-
solation(in the strong scnscthc u'orcl has in thc "conso-
lations" of the mvstics) is in a sensebitterlv tie<l to thc
fact that it cannot last, but it is precisclvthc disappc.lr-
anc'coI duraticln,antl of the neutral bcha','iorsassclciatt:d
u,ith it, that uncovers a ground of things that is <lazzlinglv
bright tin other rrords, it is clear tlrat the nccd lirr dtrra-
ticln conccalslifi: fi'onr us, an<lthat, onlv in thcon', the
impossibilitvof duration lreresus). In othcr casesthe tears
rcspond insteadto unexpectecltriumph, to goo<lfortunc
that m.rkcs us enrlt, but aluat's madly, lar bcrond tht-
c on( (' rn fo r I ftrtrrrcti me .
The Consummation of Sacrifice
Thc pou'cr that death generall_vhas illuminatesthe mc.rn-
ing of sacrifice, rvhich functions like death in that it
rt'stores a lost r,aluc through a relinquishmcnt of that
value. But death is not necessarilvlinkcd to it, ancl the
most solcmn sacrificemav not bc bloodv. 'l'cl sacrificcis
,+8
SA.]R IFI.Jf TFF fF ST IVAI Itst .,Act]EI) W .rRLf)
not to kill but to rt'linquishand to givc. Killin.qis onlv thc
cxhibition of a rleep me;rning.What is important is t<t
pass from a lasting orclt'r, in rvhich all r.onsumptionof
rcsources is subordinatcrl to tht' nt'etl fbr cluraticln,to the
violt'nccof an uncontlitionalcclnsumption;rvhat is impor-
tant is to lcavt' a u'clrltl of real things, rvhose rt-alitv
derives from a long tcnn opcration anrl nevcr rcsirk-sin
thc momcnt - a norlrl that crcatcs an<lprcscrrcs (that
crcatcs for thc br.nr'fltof a lastingrealitvy.Sacrifict'is thc
antithesisof procluction, u,hich is accomplishcclrvith a
vicr,vto the fluturc; it is cclnsuntpticlnthat is conccrnerl
onlv u'ith thc moment. 'Ihis is thc scnsein u'hich it is gift
anclrclinquishmcnt,but u,hat is givcn ('annotbe an objcct
of presen'ation for the rect'ivcr: the gilt of an o{fcring
makcs it pass prcciseh' into thc n orld of ahrupt
cclnsumption.
l-his is the mc-aningof "sacriflcing to the rleity,"
uhose sacrcdcsscnceis comparableto a firc. To sacril-ice
is to give as onLrgives cclalto thc furnace. lJut tht' lurnacer
orclinarilvhas an undcniableutilitv, to u'hich the coal is
strborclinaterl,rvhereasin sacrifice tht' ollcring is rt'sc'uecl
frour all utilit\'.
This is so clcarly the precisemt-aningof sacrificc,that
onc sacriflcesn.fioris usefirl;one does not sacrifice luxuri-
ous ob.jcc'ts.Therc could bc no sacrillcc if thc offi'ring
u'ere dt-stro1'cdbefirrehancl.Nolr, depriving thc labor o1'
,1 C)
 V

SAL ]FIf CF IF E F ES]T IVAI T HE S]A']RED W T )I] I

manuf;(turc of its uscfi.rlnessat tht' outsct, luxun. lras

stilI a nergativedt'flnition, lrom uhich the csscntial is
alrcaclvdevro,ved
that labor; it has clissipatedit in vain-
missing.
glon; in the vcrv monrcnt, it has lost it for goocl.To sac.- 'fhese
statcmcntshave thc vagut'clualitvof inacccssi-
r illc c a l u x u n ' o b j c tt u r> trl <llrc to sacri fl ccthc samc o[r-
ble rlistances,but on the othcr hand artictrlatccl<lefinitions
jt ' c t tu i c t' .
strbstitutcthc trcc lbr the forest, thc clistinctarticr,rl.rtion
llut ncither coul<l one sacrificc that w'hich \\'as not
lbr that u'hich is articulatcd.
flrst u,ithrlrau'nfr<lm immancnce,that which, ncvcr har'-
I u'ill resrlrt to articr,rlationncvcrtheless.
ing l>elongccl
tcl immancnce,uoulcl not har.cbct-nseconrl-
l'aracloxicallv,intimacv is r,iolcncc,and it is destnrc-
arilv subjugatt'tl,rlomcsticatccl,anrl rt'rluc.crlto bt'ing a
tion, l>ccauscit is not compatiblcu'ith thc positing of thr-
thing. Sacrificcis rtrarleof objt'cts that c.oukl havt lteen
scparateindividtral.II one descrilrcsthe indiviclualin the
spirits, suc'has animalsor plant sutrstanccs, but that harc
opt'ration of sacrifice,hc is tlefincd bv anguish.Br.rtif sac-
trecorncthings an<lthat neeclto bt'restorcd to the imma-
rifice is distressing,the: rerasonis that the indiviclual takcs
trcncc x.hencc thcl. colnc, to the vaguc spherc of lost
part in it. Thc indiriclualiclentifiesuith the victim in thc
intimacr'.
strrklcnnrovomcnt that restclrcsit to inruranence(to inti-
nrac\'),but the assirnilationthat is linkerl to the rt'turn to
The Individual, Anguish, and Sacrifice
immanernccis noncthclessbascdou thc lact that the ric-
Intimacv cannot be c-xprcsscddiscursir.cly. -l'hc
tim is the thing, just as the sacriflceris the intlividual.
T'he su'elling to the bursting point, the malicc that
st'parateindivirlual is of tht' sam('nature as thc thing, or
brt'aks out rvith clenthccl teeth anrl \\'ccps; thc sinking
rathr:r thc anxiousnessto remain pcrsonalh' ali"c that
fi'.'ling that ckx'sn't knou uhcrc it r'orn('sfiom or nhat
t'stablishcsthe pt'rson'sinclivirlu.rlitvis linkc<lto tht' inte-
it's alrout; thc ft'ar that singsits hca<loff in thc clark;thc
gration of cxistencc into thc u'cirl<lof things. To put it
n'hitt'-cr.t'd pallor, thc su.cct satlncss,thc ragc and thc
rliffcrcndy, rvork and the fi:ar of dving are intcr<lepern-
r om il i n q . . . a r(' s () I)l a n \ (' \a s i o n s .
rlt'nt; thc fbrn.rt-rinrplics the thing antl vicc vt'rsa.In fat't
What is intimatc, in thc .strongscn.se,i.su hat has thc
it is not cvcn nc(cssan'to lvork in or<lt'r to be thc tAlncl
passionof an abscnccof in<liridualitr-,thc inrpcrccptiblc
of [c'ar:man is an inc]ividualto the cxt('nt that his il)pre-
sonoritv of a rivcr, tht' cmptr' lirnpiditv of thc skl': this is
ht'nsion ties him to thc results of labor. But man is not.

50
5l
 v

HF gASIC
O A IA ,AaRELl WC)nLtr

as onc might think, a thing bccaust,hc is afraicl.Hc u.or,rlrl anrl contagiousmovemcnt of a purelv glorious consump-
havc no anguishif he-rlcre not the intlir,iclual(thc,thing), tion. Thc sacrcclis cxactlv c'omparableto thc flame that
.rnd it is .ssentiallv the fac.tof lx-ing an irrriiri,l'al clcstro-vs
thc u'ood bv corrsumingit. lt is that oppositc of
thlrt
fucls his anguish.It is in .rclcr to ..ati.fi thc rlenranrls a thing u'hir:h an r,rnlirnitcdfire is; it sprcads, it racliatcs
.f
thc tl-ring,it is insofar as rht,uorkl nf ihi,-,gs;
has positerl hr-at an<l liglrt, it sucldt'nlv inflanrcs an<l blinds in tun'r.
his duration as tl.rt'basic r.ondition of his uorth, Sacrificeburns likc thc sun that slo* lv dies of the prodigi-
that hr.
learnsanguish.I{e is alraitl of death as soon as hc ous radiation rvhosi'brilliancc our ('vcs cannot bcar, but
entcrs
thr. ststr:m of projec,tsthat is the order of things. it is nevt-r isolatcrland, in a uorkl <lf in<lir,iduals,
it calls
Death
clisturbsthc ordt'r ol things anrl thr: orclerof thinq. for thc gencral ncgation of indir,iclualsas such.
holtJ,.
us. lV1anis afrairl of thc intimatc ordcr that is not The clivinc lr,orlrl is contagiousand its contagion is
recon_
cilable rvith thc ordcr of thirrgs.C)thenvisethcre clangcrous.In thcon', n lrat is startcd in tlre operation o[
rvoulcl
bc no sacrifice,and thcre rroirkl bc no mankincl sacrificc is likc tht- action of lightning: in therirv thcrc is
eitht,r.
The i'timat. order u.lulcl re'car itserfin the clestruc- ncl limit to tht'contlagraticlrr.It far'orshuman lifc an<lnot
'ot
tion and the sac.rcdangrrishof the intlividual. anirnalitr; tht' rr:sistanccto immant'r.tccis u'hat rcgulatcs
llccau.sc
rnan is not squarclyu.ithin that ordcr, but onlv its resurgcncc',so yroignantin tcars an<lso strong in thc
partakcs
o[ it through a thing that is thrtatcne<lin its nature (in turavorrableplcastrrcof anguish.But if rnan strrrt-n<lt'rcrl
thc projectsthat constitutc it), intimacr.,in thc unrcsenccllyto immanencc,hc u'or-rldlall shrlrt of human-
trtnrbling
o1' thc incliviclual,is holr,, sacrc.1,antl suflusc-rl itv; l-rcw'oulclachievcit onlv to losr it an<levc'ntuallvlif'e
rl,ith
auguish. rroulclreturn to tht' unconsciousintitrracvof anirnals.Thc
constant problem poscd bv the impossibilitv of bcing
T he F e s ti v a l human rvitl'routbeing a thing ar-rrl
o[ csc'aping
tht' linrits of
l-lre sacrcd i.sthat prcxligiousefk,n.esct,rrccof life- things uithout returning tcl animal slrrmbt'rrcccilcs thr
tlrat, for
thc sakerof cluration,the order of things holclsin limitcrl solutionof the fcstival.
c.herck,
and that this hokling c.hang..s into a hrl..akingloose,th;rt Thc initial movenrt'nt of tht' fcstiral is givt'n in
is, into violencc'. It constarrtly tlrreatcn.sto clcrnentarvhumanitv, but it reacht'sthc plcnitutle of an
brcak the
dik c s ,to c o n l ro n t p ro < l u c ti v t.a tti ri t_r
rri th the preci pi tatc cf-fusiononlv if tht' anguishc<lconccntration of sacrificc

tr)
))
 tsE BAS]C DATA
tIE sncuaD WiIFLL)

sets it loosc. Thc fcstival assernblesmcn rvhom the con_

cnscmblt'that is at stakc in thc rituals. Fclr tht' sak''''rf a
sumptio' the c.orrtagio,.s
,f-fcri'g (co'r'runi'n) ,pens
'f rcol ctttnrnutritr',of a st-,cialfat't that is gircn as a tlrirrg-
up to a c.onflagration,but one that is limitecl by a counter_
of a commclnopcration in vit'u of a futtrrc timt' - thc fcs-
r.ailing prudence: thcre is an aspirati.n for destruction
tiral is limiterl: it is itsclf intt'gratt'clas a link in thc ton-
that brcaks,ut in tl.rcft.stiral,l-,r,tth.." is a conse^,.atrr.c
. 'hat 's,scxt lal
catctrat ionclf us, 'luluor ks. As <lr unkcr it r css,
prudcncethat regulatr:sand linrits it. On thc one hand, all
orgv, that n.hich it tcnclsto bc, it tlrouns clcnthing irr
thc possibilitiersof consumption arc brought togt-ther:
immancncc in a scnsc;it thcn cvcn exc'ct'<ls th. limits of
dancc anclPoctrv, ntusicand tht. <lillercntarts contribute
thc hvb r i<lnor l<l of spir it s,but it s r it t t al t lr or cm t 'r r t sslill
to making the fbstival thc place and thc time of a
spec_ into the r','orltl of immanence <tnlvthrough thc rllctliatior.r
tacular letting loose.But consciclusness, au,akein ung.,i.h,
of spi rit s.To t hc spir it s bt >r nt 'bv t hc f cst ival,t o uhom
is rlisposcrl,in a revcr.salcommanderlbv arr inabilitrlto
g,, thc sacr if lct 'isof f cr ct l, . ln<lt o r r lt oscir r t it lr acvt hc vit t im s
al'ng r.r,iththc letting l'ose, r. .ubo..li,.,.-,t.it to thc
neerd arc rt-storecl,an clpcrativcl)()w('ris attributctl in the same
that the orclerof things has- bcing f-cttcrecl by nature an<l u'av it is attribtrtcd to things' In thc t'nd thc festivalitself
s t ' lf - p a r' .rl rz e- d to rt,t.c i rea n i rn p . .l rrsl i orrr
l hc orrtsi rl c. is vicrrc<las att <llteration.-rlt<l its t'fli'ctivcrrt'ss is trot clttcs-
J'hus the letting kxrsr,of the f'estiralis llnalh.,
if not fert_ tioncd. The possibilitv of prodr'rcing,of fecunclatingthc
tcrcd, thcn at least conflnt:d to therlimits
of a realitv of fickls and thc herclsis gircn to ritcs u'host'least scnile
*hich it is thc nt'gatir'.'r-he fi'sti'al is
t,leratt-cl to thr
'lt ctlt-
opcrativc ftrrtns are aimccl,through a cotrcessiot.t,
extent that it r('s('rr(.s thc ncc.cssiticsof
thc prclfanc ting thc losscsliom the drea<lfr-rlviolcncc of thc clivint'
rr c,rlrl.
u'orl<1.In anv cast',1t<tsitivt'lvin f'ccuntlation'nt'g;ttirelr in
pr<lpitiation,tlrt'col'ttmttnit\ tlrst al)Pcarsin the fi'stiral as
Limitation, the Iltilitarian Interpretation of
a thing, a dcfinite indiviclualizationand a shar.'<lproicct
the Festival, and the positing of the Group 'l'hc festivalis not a trtle rctllrn
'l'hc rvith a vit'n to tlttration.
fi.stiral is thc firsionof hunran life. For thJ thing
an<l ltut rathc'ratr arnital>lerccont'ili.rtion,filll
t<l iurrnant't.tce
tlrc indi'id.al, it is thc cruciblc *,hcrc rlistincti.ns nrt-lt
in of anguish,bctucen the irlcompatillltrnecessitics'
thc intcnsr heat of ir-rtimatclifc. BLrt its intimac.vis
tlis_ Of coursethe communitv in the festivalis not positcd
solverl in thc rt'al antl in<liriclLralizi,rlpositing
of tlrc
sirnph as at.rclbici:t,bttt more gt'nerallvas a spirit (as a

s4 55
 Y

INt SA! IIF D W ORLLI

krsc
looking firr rrhat it has itscl{'lost, antl ulrat it mttst
subjec't-objcct),
but its positing has the r,alut-of a lirnit to
()f ctltrrscu'hat it has lost is
,',g.i,,., it <lraus ncar to it.
the irnmanenccol' tht' fcstiral anri, firr this reason, thc
tht'
not <llttsitlt' it; cons(lollsllcss turlls A\\av fiom
thing aspcctis acccntuatcrl.If thc fi'stivalis not vet, r>rncr
obscurt' intintacv of conscitlttsncss itsclf' Rcligion, uh<lsc
longcr, un<lcr vl'ar',tht' c<lmmunity link to thc festivalis
thc
cssenccis tht- searchfbr ltlst intinlacv,cotn('stlrlull trl
given in o;leratir,efilrms, u'hose c'hicfcnds arc the procl-
ctlirrt ol clt'ar tonsci<)Ltsllcss lvhich natlts to lrt a ctrm-
trcts of labor, thc crops, anclthc' hcrds. Therc is no clc'ar
ulctt' st'11-tot"tstiouslrt'ss;but this c{-fort is firtilc' sinct'
conrciousnerr
of'wh.rt tht'fcstir,alactuall)'is(of w.hatit is at
.',,nr.i,,urn,'.s<lfitrtirnatv is llossiblt'onll at a lcvel u'ht'rc
the momt'nt of its lt'tting loosc; and thc fc'stiral is not
(onscionsnt'ssis nrl lonqt'r in ()l)t'r'lti()n$h<lst'otttcomt'
situatcrl <listinctlvin tonst'iousnr'sstxr'r..ptas it is intr'-
implies <lurati<tn,that is, at thc lcvel u here claritr"
grate<linto the rluration o[ thc conrmunitr'.This is n'hat lotlgt r
u'hich is thc cfli't t clf thc ollcration, is n"
thc fi'stival (irrcendiarv sacrific't-and the outbreak of flre)
is consciouslr'(subordinatcrltcl that rluratior.rof thc com- gl \ (' n.

nron thing, nhich prt'r'cnts it lrom cnduring), but this

War: The Illusions of the Ilnleashing of
shous the fi:stival'spcculiar impossibilityanrl man's limit,
Violence to the Outside
tit'<l as he is t<l clt'ar consciousncss.
So it is not huntan- of thc festival
A soc'ictv'sindivirlualitv,uhich the lusion
itr' - insoLrr as clr,ar constioLrsrrt'ss
rightlv opp<lscsit t<r rvorks - of
'l-hr. ,lirr,rl,'.r, is tleflnctl flrst of all in tcrrns of rcal
-
anirnalitt' restorctltcl immancncc. r'irtuc of thc' fcs- into tht
agrarian prtic|-rt'tiol.r- that integrate sacrificc
tiral is not intcgrate<linto its naturt: and convcrscl_r.
thc thr"rshas the
..l ,rl,l ,,f things. tlut thc trnitv of a groLlP
lctting krose of thc l'estir.alhas bct'n possiblc onlt' bccaust'
outside'
abilitv to clireclttlestructiveviolcncc to thc
of this pont-rlcssncssof ccllrsciousn('ssto takt' it lbr uhat
A.sa matter of [act, erxternalviolcncc is antithetical to
it is. 'fhe basic problenr o[ rcligion is given in tlris fatal
havoc
sac'rifice or the fcstival, whosc violencc u'clrks
misun<lcrstanding
of sacrificc.Man is the lreing that has
lr,ithin. Only rtiigion cltsurcs a consttmptictn that tlestrovs
lost, and cvt'n rcjectt'<I,that *'hich hc obscurelv is, a
attion
thc very sttltstanccclf tl.roservhom it movcs' Armcd
vaguc intirnac_r'. could not have bec'omt:
C't>nsciousltcss
tlestrovsothcrs or thc u.ealthof <lthcrs'lt can ht' t'xt'rtccl
clcar in tht'coursc rif tirnc lf it had not turnr<l aual, lrom
grottll
incliviciuallr',uithin a grouP' but thc constitutcrl
its an kn'arrl ( ont('rits. l;ut <:lcarc'onsciousnt'ssis itsclf

51
56
 'F ] L
tsASII] I]AIA

c an l)ri l tg i t t< l b e a r o n th t. o u ts i < l t,

ani l i t i s thcn that i t
bc gin sto rl t' r.t' l < li1tst i .o n s c q u t,n c .t,s. From the Unfettered Violence of Wars to

In deadh. battlcs, in massacrt.sanrl the F ettering of Man-as-Contmodity

pillagcs,it has a
rneaningakin to that of fi,stivals,in that This lalse anrl sr,rperficialcharactcr has sc'rionsconsc-
thc cnc,mr.is not
trcatctl as a thing. llut u.ar is not limitc<l quenccs. War is not limitccl to fbrrns o[ uncalculated
to thcse t.xulo_
sir.c forces an<i,w.ithin thcsc verr. limits, havoc. Although ht- rcmains <limlr,auare of a calling that
it is not a slou
action as sacrific.t' rules out the sclf-scckingbehavior of work, the rvarrior
is, corducte.cll'ith a r.ir.rr.to a return
to
lost intimacv. It is a rljsonlc_.rlv recluceshis fbllorvmen to scrvitude.IIe thus subordinaters
cruption rvhosc cxternal
dircction robs the uarrior of thc. intimacv violcncerto thc most complete rerluction of mankind to
hc attair.rs. An<l
if it is t^rc that r'arfarc tr.'rJs in it. n.,r,., thc ordcr of things. l)oubtless thc uarrior is not tht'
\\.a\ to clissoh.c
thc indir,i<lualthrough .r nt,llativcuagt,ring initiator of the reduction. Thc opcratior.rthat makcs ther
of thc l.ah-rc of
his ou'n life, it cannot hclp l,ut enhance-his slavc a thing prcsupposcclthc prior institutiotr of u'ork.
valuc in thc
( our s c o f' ti m e b -v ma k i n g Btrt the lrcc r,r'orker rras a thing vc>hrnt.rrilvand fclr a
tl rc s u n.i vi ng i nrl i vi tl ualthc
bencfician'of the-rvagcr. givcn time'. C)nlv the slavr',u.hom thc nrilitan' or-dcrhas

War dett'rrninc-sthe clcr.ekrpmcntcif maclc a comnroclitr', <lrarls oi,rt thc cornplctc colrsc-
the inrliviclual
bev on tlth c i n < l i v i d u a l -a s _ th i ni ng th c quences of the rerluction. 1[ncleecl,it is nectssan' tcl
gl ori ousi nrl i vi cl ual _
itv of tht: u..rrrior. Thc glorious indlritlual spccifvthat n ithout slavcrvthe rvorlclof things u.<rr-rkl
not
introtluces,
through a lirst nc.gationof inrlir.idualitv, Thus the cru<lcunronsr'ioLrs-
havc achicvt-clits plcnitucler.)
thc divine orr:lcr
into the c.atc.gorv ncss of thc uarrior mainlv r,r'orksin favor of a prcclomi-
of tht, intlirirlual l,riich e_rprcsscs the
ortler of things in a basicu,ar.).IJc has nance of the rcal orcle'r.'l hc sacrcd llrcstigc hc arrogate.s
thc contra<licton,
n,ill to make the ncgation oi,ltrration to himst'lf is the falsepretenseof .r uorld brought don'n
durable. fnu, t,i,
strength is in to thc ncight of utilitr.. Thc narrior's nobilitv is likc a
ltart a strcngth to lic. War rcprcscntsa boltl
arJvance,but it is thc t.mrlcst kind of ailvance prostitute's smile, the truth of uhich is st'll'-intcrcst.
: onc ncctls
as muc'h nalvct6 - or stupi<lit_r. _ as strcngth to bc
intlil_
fi'rcnt t. that tr hic.h()'(. ()\,.,rralu.., .,r,1 Human Sacrifice
i,, takt, ltri<lt,in 'l'ht' sacriflcesof slar.esillustrate tht'
har ing tl c c mc rl< l n t,s t,loff' ri o r.a l u t,. principle accorcling
t<r rvhich uhat i.su.iefirlis rlcstincrl fbr sacrificc.Sacrilice

58
;e
 HE BAS]C t]ATN

surr('ndcrs thc slave, rvhclsc scrr.itudc ac.centuatesthc of sacrilice,is not satisfiecl

intcrnal violencc,the t-sserncc
dcgrarlationof the-human or<ltr, to thc baleful intimacv
bv it. Intensc consulnption requires victims at thel top
of unfcttcred violencc. rvho arc not onlv the uscful lr'calth of a pcoplc, but this
In gcneral,human sacriflceis the acutc stagcof a clis_
peoplc itself; or at lcast, clcmcnts that signifv it and that
pute setting the movcmcnt of a measurclessviolcnce uill be dcstined lbr sacrifice,this time not orving to an
againstthc real ordt'r and duration. It is the most radical alit-nation from the sacrerlu'orlcl - a flall- but, quitc thc
contcstation of the primac.vof utilitv. It is at the same (ontrar\, orl'ing to an cx(cptional prclximitv, sr-rchas the
timc the highest de.greeof an unleashing of intcrnal vio_ sovc'rcignor thc children (u'host'ki[ling finallv realizcsthc
lence. The society in u-hich this sa..riflcerages mainlv
perfbrrnanccclf a sacrificetu'ice clvcr).
afllrrns the rejection of a disequilibrium nf th" trr,, ,,lu- One could not go further in the dcsireto consumcthe
lences. He u.ho unlcasheshis lorccs of destruction on
ther life substancc.Indecd, one coukl nclt go morc recklcssly
outside cannot be sparingof his resourccs.If he reduccs
than this. Such an intensc movemcnt of consumption rc-
the enc.mvto slar,cry,he must, in a spcctacularfhshion,
sponds to a movcment of malaisc bv crcating a greater
make a glorious use of this nc\\. sourcc of rvcalth. IJc
must malaise.It is not thc apogce ol a rcligious svstem, but
partlv <lcstro.l'thesc_-
things that sen,e him, for there is rathcr the moment rvhcn it condemns itself: r'vhcnthe old
nothing uscful around him that can fail to satisfv,first
of fbrms har"elost part of their virtuc, it can maintain itself
all, the mythical order's rlemanrlfbr consumption.Thus
a onlv thnrr,rghcxcesscs,through inn<lvationsthat are too
continual surpassing tor,r.ard dcstruction clenies, at
thc oncrous. Numt-rous signsinclicatethat thcse cnx'l dcmands
same time that it affinlrs, thc indir,irh,ralstatus of
thc ucrer not t'asih'tolcratcd.Trickerv rerplaccdthc king u"ith
grouP.
a slave on uhom a tcmPorarv rovaltv r'vasconfi'rred. Thtr
But this dcmancllor consumption is broLrghtto bear
primacv of consttmptioncould not rcsist that of militarv
on the slar.e insofar as the lattcr is Ai.spropcrtv antl llis
lorcc.
thing. It shoulclnot be confusedu,ith thc movcmcnts
of
l'iolencethat har,er
the outsidc, the encmv, as their obiect.
ln t lr i s r(.s p c (t th r.s a tri fi rt, ,rf ,r s l.rrc i * l ar l rom h.,i nt
purer.In a senseit is an cxtcnsionof militarv combat, and

60 6l
 P. nl T w c t

R el i gi on W i thi n the

Li m i ts of R eas on

F ro m tl-rc Militarv Orrler

to Inrl ustrial Grou.th

 C tt .t t''t t, tt I

The M ilit ar l'O r cler

From a Balance of Resour ces ar r d

E xpendi t ur es t o t he Accum ulat ion of
Forces with a View to Their Growth
Human sac'rific'etcstifies at thc same tinrc tcl an cxct'ssof'
neal th an r l t o a ven'painf ul uav of spcnclingit . I t gcner -
allv led to the'con<lemnationof thc rather stablenen sys-
tcms u'hosegrou'th u'as slight anclin u'hich the cxpcndi-
turc \\'as (olllrcnsuratc rrith tht' rt'sottrce's.
Tht'nrilitan'ordcr pr.rtan cnclto thc malaiscsthat cor-
rcsponrlcd tcl an orgv of cclnsumption.It clrganizcrla
rational use of fbrces firr thc constant incrcaseof pou'cr.
'fht'
mcthorlicalspirit of c'onqucstis c'ontrarvto thc spirit
of sacrillcc an<lthc nrilitan' kings rcjt'ctetl sacritlcefrom
the beginning. The princ'iple of militarv orclt-r is the
mcthorlical divcrsion of violcncc to tl.rc outsirle. lf vio-
lcncc ragt'suithin, it opl>oscsthat violcr.rc'r-
to thc extt-nt
it can. Antl it suborclinates
thc clivrrsionto a rcal t'ntl. It

65
<locsscl irr a gencral uar'. Thus the nrilitarr orrlcr is con-
trarv to the lorrns clf spectac'ularr.iolcncc that corresponcl
more to an r,rnbrirllcdcxplosion of fun. than to the
rational cak'ulationof elfcctircness.It no lorrger rimr at
tht' greatestcxpcn(litur('of firrt't's,as an art.haic.
s<lcialsvs-
tcm clirl in u'arfart an<l f-cstirals. Thc cxprn.litr.rr-..,rf
firrct'scolrtinucs,but it is subjcc.tcrl
to a prirrciplcof maxi-
nrum viclcl:if the fbrcesarc spcnt, it is u'ith a r,icu.to thc
accluisitionclf grcatcr f<rrces.Archaic. societv conflnecl
itsclf in uarlarc to tlre rounding trp of slavcs.In ket'ping
uith its principlcs,it coultl cor.npcnsate
for thcse acquisi-
tions bv mcans of ritual slaughters.Thc militarv orcler
organizcsthc viekl of *'ars into slavcs,that of slavcsinto
lalmr. It nrakcsc'onquesta mctho<1ical cipcration,for thc
grou'th of an cmpire.
Positing of an Empire as
the Universal Thing
'l'he empirc submits
from thc start to thc primacv of thc
real orrlc'r. It posits itst-lf e-ssentiallv
as a thing. It ,ub,rr-
<linatcsitst'lf to cntls that it afllrms: it is the aclministra-
tion of rcason.llut it could nevcr allorv anothcr cmpire to
cxist at its fronticr as an cqual. liverv prcscnc'earounrl it
is or<lerc<lrclative to it in a projer,t of c.onquest.In this
rval' it losrs tht simplc indivirlualizecl
characterof ther[im-
itt-cl comntunitl.. It is not a thinq in the senscin n.hich
things lit into the order that bclongsto thcrl; it is itsclf
thc ordcr of things.rnd it is a univcrsalthing. At this lercl,
the thing that cannot have a sovcreigncharactcr cannot
havc a subordinatr:clraractcrcitlrer, sincc irt theorv it is
an opcration der.clopeclto thc limit of its possibilities.At
tht- limit, it is no longcr a thing, in that it bears rvithin it,
beyond its intangiblc qualitit's,an opening to all that is
possible.But in itself this opening is a voicl.lt is onlv the
thing at the momcnt rvhen it is undone, rcvealing thc
impossibilitv of infinite subordination. But it consttmes
itself in a sovercignu'av.For ('sscntiallvit is alual's a thing,
ancl thc movcmcnt clf consumJrtionmust (omc to it li'om
tht' outsicle.
Law an d M or alit y
Tht: ermpirc,bcing tht- universal thing (rvhose universalitv
rcveals the void ). insofar as its t-ssenc'cis a divcrsicltrof
violcncc to thc otrtsitle,neccssarilvdevt'lclpsthe larv that
ensures the stabilitv of the order of things. In fact, larv
gives thc attacks against it thc sancti<tnof an external
r.ioletrctr.
Lar,r'clefincs obligatorv rclations of each thing (or of
eachinrlividual-as-thing)rvith othcrs anrlgtrarantces them
bv the sanctionof public firrt c. But hcre lau' is onlr' .rtlotrb-
let of thc moralitl' that guarantcestht' s.rmc rt'lations llv
thc sanrtion of an itrtt'rnalviolcnte of thc irltlividual.
61
 -

Larv and moralitv also have their placc in the empire Cu, qp r l: R I I
in that thcv rlefine a universalncccssity of tht: rclation of
each thing r,r'ith thc othcrs. But tl-rc po\\'cr of moralitv Dualism and M or alit y
rermainsforcign to the svstem basedon extcrnal violcncc.
Moralitv only touches this s1'stcmat thc border r.vhere
lar'r'is integratcd. And thc connection of the one and thc
other is thc middle terrn bv r.vhich oner gocs from the
empirc to thc outsicJc,from the outside to the cmpirc.

The Positing of Dualism and the

Shifting of the Borders of the
Sacred and the Profane
In a u'orlcltlominatc<lbv thc militarl'order, moving trllvar<l
univcrsalempirc from the start, consciousncss is <listinctlv
rlcterrnincd in thc mcasttrertlrcflectittn clf thc uorld tlf
things. And this aLltonomoustltttornination of cont.iotts-
ncss brings about, in duolism,a pr<lfbuntl altcration in tht'
of thc uorld.
rcnrt'sr-ntation
Originallv,u'ithin the divine rvorl<I,thc bencficcntand
pure elcments opposcclthe malefic antl impure clcments,
and both tvpes appearcclcquallv distant from the prolane'
But if onc considcrsa dominant mo\'('mcnt of rcflt'crtivt'
th<iught,thc divinc appcarslinkeclto pttritr', thc profhnc
to impurity. In this u'av a shift is eff-cctedstarting lrom
the premisc that divine immant-nce is tlangcrous, that
n'hat is sacred is malcflc first of all, and clcstrovsthrough

6lJ 69
 7

('ontagionth.rt uhich it t:ttmesclost' to, that thc bcncfl- tusc'lcss

cclnsumpticlr.lJut it lrccclrncspossiblconlt' *hcn

bt'ttvt'cnthc profanc rv<lrldarld

arc rrretliatclrs sclvcreigntr',in thc <lirinc norltl, shilts lrorn thc dark
ccnt s1>irits
<lcitl'to thc *'hitc, from the nralcficrlt'itr to thc' protcctor
thc unleashingof rlirint' lbrtes - ancl sct'tn lcss sacretlin
comparisonuitlr tl'rc tlark tlt-itics. of the real orclcr.In fbct it presul)l)oscs
thc sanctionof thc
'l'his earlr shift scts tl'rc stagt' fbr a clt'cisivt'changc. clivir.rc<lrtlt'r. In granting thc opcrative pclu'r'r of the

Rcflectir,cthought <lefincsmoral rulc's;it prt-stribes uni- dir.ineover tht- real,mar-rhad in practic'csuborclinaterl

thc
ancl soci-
r,ersallvobligator-vrclations betu'ccrt indivich,rals clivir.rcto thc rcal. I Ie slou'h' rccluccdits r.iolcnccto thc

ctv or bctr'r,eenintlividuals thcmselvt-s.Theserobligaton' sanctionof thc real orclcr tl.ratmrtralitv constitutcs,pro-

relations arc t'sst'ntiallvthose that cnsurc the <lr<lcrtlf ridcd that thc rcal orclcr confonns, prt-r'isclvin moralitl',

rhings.Thcv somctitnc-stakt' up prohibitions that u'cre to the univcrsalclrder of rt-ason.ln rt'alitr', rcason is thc

establisht'd bl' tht' itrtintatc ordcr (sr.ri:has d're onc ftrr- univcrsalfirrm of thc thing (i<lt'nticalto itsclf) anrl of thc

hidding murclcr). Btrt rtroralitv chooscsfrom amrlng the opcration (of action). Rcason ancl mclralitv unite<l,both

rules of the intim.rtt'or<lcr. lt st-tsasi<lc,or at lcast <locs resulting from thc r,.-alor<ler'snecessiticsof prescnltiorr

llot slll)port, thosc ltrohibiti<lnstltat cannot bc grantecl antl opcrat i<) n,agr ( '( 'nit h t he <livincf ir nt t ion t hat t 'xt 'r -

runir,crsalvah.re,that clearlvdt'pcnd cln a capricicltlslit>crtr' c iscsa bcncvolcntsovt'rt'igntl or t'r tltlt onlcr. TItt'r' rati<l-
nal i zcand m or alizcr lir init r ',in t ht ' r 't 'n'nr or cm t 'ntu'hcr c
of thc mvthir'.rlortlcr. Antl t'rcn if it gcts part of tht' lans
fnrr.n rcligitln, it grtluncls thcm, like thc- otht'rs, rnoralitv anrl rcasonan' rlir inizt'rl.
it <lecrt-t-s
Moralitv lavs
it links tht'nr t<ithc ortler of rhing.s. ln this u'av thcrc app('ar thc clt'rnc'ntso1'thc u'orkl
in reason;
vicu' tl'rat is commonlv callc<ltlualisnr anrl that rliffcrs
tl<lun rult's th;rt tilllo* ttnivcrsallvfrom tht'nature of the
fl-om thc lirst rt'ltrcst'ntation,also bast'rlon a biytartition,
prclfane uorld, that cnsr.trethc <luratior"r',r'ithout u'hich
bv r irtut' o1'ashiliing of briundariesanrl an ovcrtrrrningof
thcre can be no opcratirln. It is thcrelforcopposedto the
Yalu('s.
scalc of r,alucsof thc intimatc ordcr, n'hich placeil the
highcst valuc on that 'nvhosemt'aning is gircn in the In thc tirst rcprt'scntaticln,the irnnrancnt sacrcrl is

moment. It con<lentnsthc cxtrcme lilnns tlf the <lstcnta- prcclicatcdon the animal intimaur of rnan ar.rcl
thc u'orltl,

of ncalth (thus l-rumansacrificc,or cvcn n'hereasdre prolanc u'orlcl is prcdicatcdon tht' transcen-
tious <lcstrttcrtion
b l o o tl s a c ri fl c c ... ). [t trl n d c m ns, i n a gencral l vav, al l rl enccof t hc objcct ,uhich hasr r <lint inr ir cvt cl r r 'lr iclrm an-

1(l 1l
 Y
kincl is immanent. In the manipulation of objccts and,
generallv, in rclatiotrs u'ith objects, or nith subiccts
rcgar<lcrlas objects, thcrt' appcar, in lirrrns that arc
implicit but linkc<lto thc profane u'orlcl,the principlesof
reasoll and moralitr'.
'fhe sacrcd is itsclf dividccl: thc dark and malcfic
sacrt'd is opposc<lto thc rvhitc ancl bt'neficcnt sacre(land
the deitiesthat partakc of the onc or the otht'r are ncithcr
rational nor rnoral.
B v c o n tra s t,i n th c tl tra l i sct rol uti < l nthe di vi nt' bectl mcs
rational and moral and relcgatt'sthc malcfic sacrcclto the
s p h e rt' o f th c p ro l a n c .' l ' h eu o rl d ol ' thc spi ri t (l rari ngf' cu'
connections lr'ith tht' first u'orkl of spirits - u'herc thc dis-
to thc inrlistinctionrlf
tinct lbrms of the objcct u'crc joine<1
thc intimatc or<ler) is the intclligiblc urrrltl of thc iilc-a,
u,host' unitv cannot be brokcn dor'vn. lht- tlivisirln into
bt'ncficentan<lmalt'tic is lbuncl againin tht'norld of'mat-
tcr, u'ht'rc thc tangiblc fcrrnr is somctimcs altprt'hcnsiblt:
(in its idcntit_yn.ith itsclf an<lnith its intclligiblcfrrnn, and
in its opcrativepou'c'r),and <ltht'rtinrcsis not, but rcmait'ts
tunstablc, anil not r omplctclv intclligible,is onlv
<langcrous,
chance,r'iolt:nce,att<lthre'atenstct <lestrovthc stablc ancl
opcrativefirrms.
7)
The Negation of the Immanence
of the Divine and lt s Posit ing in t he
Transce ndence of Reason
Thc moment of changc is givcn in a passage:thc intclli-
giblt' sphcrt' is rt'r'ealed in a transport, in a su<lclcn
movcment o[ transc'trrdcncc, u,ht're tangiblc mattt'r is
surpasscd.Thc intcllcct rtr thc (.onccpt,situate<lriutside
tirnc, is rleltincdas a sor,crc-ignclr<lcr,to uhic.h the lrorlcl
of things is strborrlinatccl,jrrst as it subordinatcdthc gods
of mvthologv. In this nav the intelligiblc uorld has thc
rpl x' aran(( ' . r f t h. ' . lir inc.
Ilut its transtor<lcnccis of a <lif{crentnatrlr('f1'ornthc
int'onclusivctransccnclcnccof thc divine of archaic reli-
gion. The <livineu'as initiallr graspcdin tcnls of intirnacr.
(of violcncc,of thc scream,of bt'ing in cruption, blirrrlanrl
unintclligiblc, of thc clark and malcfic sacrcd);if it uas
transcendent,this nas in a ltror,isionalu,ar',for m.rn nho
ac'tc<lin the real order but uas rituallt rcstorcd to thc
irrtimatc onler. This secclndarytransccn<icnc,c
\\,as pro-
lixrndlv cliffcrcnt from that ol thc intclligiblt. rrorlrl,
ulrich rt'm.rins./orercrsc'par.rtcrlfr-ornthc uorkl of thc'
scnses.Tl.rctransccndcncccif a morr ratlicalrlualisnris thc
fr <ir l <lnt 'u<lr lclt o t ht 'ot ht r . M or c cxac. t lr ,it is
l )assagc
t[rc'lcaring of this u orkl, tht' lcaring of tht' u.orld,
[rcr-iorl
- lirr, opposite thc sclrsuousuorl<1,thc intt'lligibk' uorkl
7)
 7
is not so much a <lifli'rcntu'orki as it is outsidc thc u'orkl.
But man of the dualistic conccption is oppositt- t<r
archaic man in that thcrc is no longer an.y intimacl'
bctucernhinr and this *'orlcl. This uorlcl is in fact inrma-
nort to him but this is insofar as hr. is no longcr charac-
tt'rizerl br, intimacv, insofar as hc is tlefinctl bv drings, and
is himsclf a thir.rg,bcing a distinctlv separateinrliviclual.
Of coursc archaic man did not continuallv participatc in
thc contagious r,iolcncc clf intimacv, btrt if he u as
removed from it, thc rituals alu'avs kcpt the pou.er to
bring him bac'kto it at the propcr timc. At thc lt-r'elof the
clualisticconcr:ption,no vestigcof thc ancicnt t-estivals can
prcvent reflcctirc man, uhom rcflectionconstitutr-s,fron.r
being, at the momcnt of liis ftrlfillment, man of lost inti-
mac'r'.l)oubtlcss intimacv is not foreign to hirn; it could
not bc said that hc knou's nothing of it, sincc hc has a
rccollcction of it. But this rccollection.sentl.s
him outsidc
a u-orkl in u,'hich thcre is nothing that rt'spor-rrlsto thc
longing hc has &rr it. Irr this norlcl t'r.crrtl'rings,on u hicl.r
he brings his reflec'ticlntcl bcar, arc pr<lfloundh scparatctl
from hinr, and tht' beings thcmselvcsarc n'raintainedirr
thcir incomrnunicablcin<lividualitr'.This is ',r'hyfor hirn
transcenclencc
tlocs not at all hale thc valuc-ofa scpara-
tion but rathcr of a rcturn. No doubt it is inacrcessible,
lrcing transccndcncc:in its operation it cstablishesthe
inrpossibilitv,for tl.reoperator, of bcing immanent to thc
14
SM AND MORAL TY
outcomc of thc opcration. But u.hilc thc inclividualthat
he is cannrt lea'e this *'or[cl rlr corllcct hirnsclf*ith that
n,hich goes be1'ondhis or.r,nlimits, hc glimpsesin the sucl_
den au.akeningthat rvhich cannot be graspcdbut u,hic:h
slips awav precisclv as a d61dyu. For him this d6jd vu is
uttcrlr, different from that rvhich he sees,u,l.richis alu,avs
separatedfrom him - anclfbr thc samc rcason from itsclt.
It is that rvhich is intclligibleto him, u.hich au.akcnsthe
recollectionin him, but u.hich is immediatelvlost in thr-
in'asion of scns.rv data, rvhich reestablishseparatiorr.r.r
all sirles.This separatebcing is precisclva th;ng in that it
is separatedfrom itself-:rr is thc thing anclthc sc1;aration,
but .ref is cln thc (.ontrarv an intimacv that is n()t .\r,p.r_
ratcrl frorr anvthing (cxcept that rvhich .scparatc.s it.sclf.
from this intimaq., thu.sir, and u,ith it thc rrholc rrorl<l
of' .separatethings).
The Rational Exclusion
of the Tangible
World and the Violence of Transcendence
A great virtuc in the paracloxof a transcentlenct<lf inti_
macv resultsfr<lm thc crlrnplctcncgation of tl.regilen in_
rlnroo' that transccnrienceis. Fclr thc gircn rntrmar,r.is
nt' rt' r'anvt hinglr r r t a ( ont r ar \ ' , , f int im a. . , lr r . raust .t r r bt ,
gircn is ncccssarilvto bc gircn in the u-ar:that a thing is.
It is alrt'adv to be a thing u'host, intintacv is nr.r.r,ssarill.
scparatcd l}om it. The intimac.\,escapesit.clf in thr
?c
 R F L I 'J I O N WI T H l N TIlF L {M l TS OI RI
movemt-r)tin nhich it is gilt'n. In lact it is in learing thc
u'ori<lt-,f'thingsthat tht' Lrst intimacv is rcgainctl.Btrt in
realitv the u'orld of things is not the norld bv itsclf ancl
purc transcenrlence touard a pure intclligibilitv (rvhich is
als o ,q l i n rp s c d .l l la t o Irc e ,i u th e auakuri ng, a l l ttrc ttrri l t-
tclligibilitv) is, u'ithin the sctrsuotts n'orld, a tlcstruc'tionat
once too crtmplctc antl impoter-rt.
Doubdcss the clestructionof thc thing in thc' archait'
u'orld hacl an oppositc virtuc and impotence. It did not
tlestrov the thing univcrsallv b-v a single operation; it
(lcstrove(lthe thing takcn irl isolation,hv thc ncqationthat is
tiolence,that rs inrpersclnallt'in the n'or,ld.Nou', in its nega-
tion the movcm('nt of transct'nclc'nc'e is no lcss o1l1l<lscdto
r,iolcnccthan it is to the thing that violent'ctlestrols. J'hc
precctling analysisclc'arlv sho'nvsthc timiditv of that bolcl
aclvancc.It undotrbtedh'has thc samc intention as archai.'
sacriticc,nhich is, lbllouing an incltrt'tatrlcdcstinr, at the
sametime to lift and to Prescrvethe orclerof things.tlut if
of its rt'al
it lifts that order, it is by raisingit to thc negatior.r
<l[ reasoll arlrl moralitv givcs
cff.:cts: the trattsct'nclent'c
sovercigntv,againstviolencc (the contagioushavoc clf an
unleashing),to the sanctionof thc ordcr of things' Like ther
opcration clf sacritic'c,it cloesnot c'ondctntr,in themsclvcs,
the lirnitcd unlt'ashingsol de.facto violcncc, u'hich havc
rights in thc rvorld next to tl'reorder of things,bLrtdcllnes
thctr as cril as s<lotias the\'ltlact-that onlcr in tlangcr.
76
'l'hc u'eakncssof sacrific'e'
u'as that it e'r'entuallvlost its
jrrst
virtue and finallv establishcdan onlt'r of sac'rt'dtliinri.s,
as st'rrile as that of rcal objects. fh.. dcep afflnnation of
sacrifict:, thc affinnation of a dangcrous so','e'reigntvof
violt'ncc, at least tenrlctl to maintain an anguish that
brought a longing fcrr intirnac! to an arvakencdstatc, on
a lcvel tcl u,hich violcncc alone has thc filrcc tcl raisc us.
But if it is true tl.ratan cxc't-ptionalviolcnce is rcleascclin
transct'ndcnccat the momcnt of its m<lr,cmcnt,if it is truc
that it is thc vcrv arvakeningof possibilitv - prccisclr,
becauscso complete a vir>lcncccannot lrt- maintaincrllirr
long - thc positingof the'<lualistic
au,akcninghasthc mcaning
of an introductior.rto the sotnnolcnccthat folkrus it.
'l'hc
dualism of transccnclenceis succeedt'dbv the
slcc'pvpositing (uhich is alreadvgir,enin thc initial shifts
and u.hich onlv sleephclps onc to tolerate)of the lr'orlcl's
division betrvc'cntu'o principles, both includc'rl in this
rvorld, of u.hich one is at thc same timc that of goo<land
the mind, and the other that of evil ancl matter. Henct'
thcre is gir,cn,u'ithout opposition, an empirc of thc rcal
ordcr that is a sovereigntl'of scn.itudc. A u,orlcl is tleflnccl
in which free violcncc has onlv a ncgatile plac'c.
l1
 C ttAI,tt,n lll

M cd i a ti o n

The Gener al Weakness of M or al Divinit v

and the Strength of Evil
Prt-cisch' bccausc a',r'akcningis thc meaning of rlualism,
the inevitablt' slet'o that fbllrl*'s it rcir.rtroducesevil as a
major force. The llatness tcl u'l.rich a dualism n'itl'ror,rt
transccnrlcncc is limiterl opens up the mir.rd to tl.rc
sovcrcigrrtvof cvil nhich is thc unleashingof violcnct'.
The sor,ercigntr'of gooclthat is inrplicil bv thc au'akening
anrl rcalize<ll,v the sleepof dualism is also a rcduction to
thc orclcr of things that leavesno opening exct'pt tou'ard
a retllrn to violcncc. Dull-mindcrl <lualismrcturns tcl tht'
positior.rprior to thc au'akcning: thi' malefic u.orld takcs
on a value much the sam('as tl-rt'oncit haclin thc arcl'raicr
position. It is lessimportant than it uas in tht'sovcrcigntv
of a purc violcnce,u'hich tlid not har.ea sens('clf evil, but
the firrct's of cvil no'cr lost thcir divinc valuc cxcept
uithin the limits of a doclopcrl rcflcc'tion, an<l thcir

?()
apparcnth'infc'ri<lrstatuscannot prcvcnt rlrdinarr'human-
itv from cclntinuing tcl livc urrrlcr tl.rcir po\\'('r. Scvt'ral
forms arc possiblc:a cult of cxt'crationof a violcnccconsirl-
t'rcd to bc irrt'rluciblt'can capture thc intcrt'st of a blind
an<lthc intcrcst is opcnlv tleclarctl if thc
consc'iousness;
execrationimplies a completeopcning to cvil, u ith a vicu'
to a subscquentpurification;or t'r'il,t'r'ilas such,c'anrcvcal
t<l tht- confuscdcclnsci<lusness
that it is uorth m<lrt.to it
than gootl. [Jut thc cliff'crc-ntfrlr-ns of tht' rlualistic attituclc
nocr of'flr anvthing but a slippervpossibilitvto thc mind
(ll'hich must alu'avs ans\\'cr at thc samc tinte tcl ttvo ir-
reconcilablc clcmands: lift anrl preserve thc orrlcr of
t hin g s ).
A richer possibilitv,providing adequatedisplaccmcnts
u'ithin its limits, is givcn in mediation.
The major r,vcaknerss
of dualism is that it offt'rs no
legitimatc place fcrr violencc cxccpt in the moment of
purc transcenclt-ncc,
of rational exclusionof thc scnsuous
r'r'orld.But thc' clivinitv of the good cannot bc maintainctl
at that clegreeof pr,rrity;indeed, it lalls back into thc sen-
suousu,'orld.It is the object, on thc part of thc belit'ver,
of a scarchfor intimate communication,but this thirst lbr
intimacv r'r.ill nevcr bc cluenched.The good is an cxclu-
sion of violcncc and therc can be no brcakingof the onler
of scparatcthings, no intimacy, rvithclut r.iolencc;thc gocl
of gcxrdness
is limitcd bv right to the r,iolcnc'cnith u'hich
80
he excludcsviolcncc, anrl hc is divinc, open to intimacr',
onll' insofar as hc in lact prcscn,cs thc old violencc r.r'ithin
him, rvhich he does not havc the rigor to excluclc,and tcr
this cxtcr-rtht' is not the gocl of rcason,u,hich is thc truth
of gooclncss.In thcorv this involves a u.eakcningof the
moral divine in favor of ervil.
The Mediation of Evil and
the Impotence of the Avenging God
A first mediation of o'il has alu.avs been possible.I1,
before mv cvcs, the real forc'csof cr,il kill mr' lricnd, the
violcncc introclucesintimacr, in its most active fclrn. In
thc statc of opennessin r.r'hichI find mvself due to a vio-
lcnce undergone, in thc mournful rer,elation of clcath, I
am in accord lr'ith thc divinit-vof goodncssthat condemns
a cruc'l act. In thc divine disorcler of crimc, I call for the
violcncc that lvill restore therdcstrovccl<lrder.llut in rcal-
ity it is not violencc but crimc that has opencd clivinc
intimacv to mc. And, insofar as the vcngcancedoes not
bccomc an extension of thc irrational r,iolence of thc
crime, it rvill cluicklv closc that r,vhichcrime oPcnccl.For
onlv r,engeancethat is c'ommandedbv passionand a taste
for untrammcled violenceis dil'inc. Thc rcstorati<lnof the
lau'ful order is essentiallvsubordinatc'dto profane realitl'.
Thus a first possibilitv of mcdiation manifests thc cxccp-
tkrnally slipperv naturc of a god of goodncss:hc is dir,iner
8l
in cxcluclingvicllencelx violcncc (anclhc is lcss so than
thc cxcluderl violcncc, uhicl'r is thc neccssarvmc(liation
of his divinit,v),but he is divint' onlv insofaras l-rcopposes
rcasonantl tl'rcgoocl;anclif he is a pur(' rationalmoralitv,
hc ou'cs his rcmaining rlir.initv to a name, ancl to a pro-
pensitv to enrlurc or.r tl.rc part of that u'hich is not
dcstrovcd from tht' outsidc.
The Sacrifice of the Divinitv
In thc sccond lorm of mcdiation thc violencc comcs to
thc divinitv from thc outsiclc.It is the divinitv itsclf that
undcrgocs it. As in thc positing ol a god of r,t'ngeancc,
crimt'is nccessarvfirr the rcturn of tht intimatc orrler. If
tht're u'as onh' man, of tl'rcorder of things,and the moral
tlivinitv, tht're coulrl not be anv tlccp communication
bctn'ccn them. Man includi:din thc ordcr of things w'ould
not be ablc both to lift ancl to preserve that ordcr. The
r,iolcnccof o'il must intcn'cne firr thc orrlcr to be liltctl
through a clcstruction,but thc ollered victim is itself the
<livinitr'.
1'hc principlc of mcdiation is givt n in thc sacriflct'
u'ht're thc offcring is <lestrovcclso as to opcn a path fbr
thc rcturn of the intimatc order. But in the me<liationof
sacriflccthc sac'rifict'r'sact is not, in theon, oltytciscd
to
thc rlirini' ordt'r, tl.rt'natur(' o1'uhich it t'xtcnrls inrme-
diatclv. Hou'cvcr, thc crimc that a uorkl of thc sovcrcign
lJ2
gootl has clcflncdas such is cxtt'rnal to thc moral divinitr'.
Thc onc u,ho r-rndr-rgocs
thc violcnce o[ cvil can also bc
callc<lthc mc<liator,but this is insofarashc subjcc.ts
himsclf
to annihilation,insolhr as he rcnounceshimst'll.'l'hc or<li-
narr'-r'ic'tim of evil, rvho invokcd the gclrl of vcngcancc,
coukl not rcccive this namc since hc hacl inl'oluntarilv
unrlcrgont' tl'rc violenc'cof mcrliation. Br-rtthc divinitr'
intcntionallr, in,r'okcs crimc; mcdiation is the ioint
accomplishmcntof violenccanclof thc being that it rcnds.
In realitv the sacrific'cof'the moral rlirinitv is never
the unf-athomablernr-'stervthat onc usr.rallvimagines.What
is sacrillcetl is niat serrc-i,and as soon as sovcrcigntv
is reduced to serving thc ordcr of things, it can be
re'storeclto thc divine.ordcr onlv through its destruction,
as a thing. 'l'his assumesthe positing of thc clivinc in a
bcing capablc of being really (phvsicallv) cloneran'av r,r'ith.
'fhe violence thus lifts an<lprescn'csthc ordcr of things,
irrcspcctil'c of a vengcanccthat mav or ma1.not bc pur-
sucd. In dcath thc divinitv accepts the sovereigntrr,rth of
an unleashingthat overturns thc orclcr of things, but it
tleflccts the r,iolcncc onto itsclf ancl thus no krngcr scn'e's
that ordcr: it ceasesto be er.rslar.ed
to it as things thcm-
selvesare.
In this n'av it clcvatcstht- sovcrcigngo<ltl,sovt'reign
rcason,abovc thc consen'ativean<loperatir,eprinciplesof
the u'orld of things. C)r rather it makt's these'intclligiblc
8l
 RELIGION WI T I ] L N fHE L IM S OF R EASC ) N

fbnns that lrhich thc rnovcrncnt of transcendcnccmade

cncluringthat is govemed bv the operation. At thc same
them: an intclligible l-rcr,onrlof bcing, v.hereit .srruare.r timc it is posited as thc result of opc-rationsanalogousto
lntlmoc,t. thosc of the rcal ordcr ancl pursued in that order.
llut the sacrifice of the clivinitv is muc_-h
more i.lost,h. In actual fict the intimate ordcr is subordinatcrlto the
ticd to the .qeneralcxclusion clf the given r,i,,lencesthan rcal x'orld onlv in a supcrficial rval'. Unclcr tht. sorcr-
uas transccnclence,u'hosc nroventent of vicllence lr.as
cigntv ol moralitv, all the operationsthat claim to cnsurc
gir,cn indepcn<lcntlyof eril (in rcason'sbeing tclrn auar thc return of thc intirnatt: order arc thosc that the rcal
from the scnsuollsrrorlcl;. -lhc r,cn. r'iolorcc w'ithout lr'hich
u'orlJ reqr-rirt-s:the extcnsive prohibitions that arc giren
tlre tlivinity could not have torn itsclf arvav from the
as the precondition frtr thc return are aime-dprimarilv at
oriler of things rs rcjectt'rl as bcing somethingthat ntust
'fhc prcsen'ingthc disordcr of the u orld of things. In the end,
ccasc. clirinitr' rt'mains rlir,int-onh through that nhich
the rnan of salvationclid morc to bring thc principlcs of
it t ondcn-rns.
the orclcr of things into the intimatc order than to sub-
ordinate that productive ordcr to thi. tlcstructilc con-
The Div'ine Deliv,ered sumptions clf thc intirnate-ordcr.
Over to the Operation
So this r,vorld of mcdiation and of rvorks of salvation
Thc paradox of a nrediation that shoulclnot har.ebecn
is lcd trom the start to erxceedits limits. Not onl_varc thc
dot's not rcst mcrelv on an intcrnal contrarlic.tion.In a
vicllcncers
that moralit_vcon<lcmnssct frct. cln all siclcs,but
gcne'ralrva1.,it controls thc contrarlictioninr.olvt:din thcr a tacit debate is initiated betrvcenthc w'orksof salr,ation,
lilting anrl maintcnancr ol tht' real orde.r.'fhrough medi-
n'hich scr,r.ethe real ordcr, and those uorks that escape
ation thc rcal orclcr is subordinated to thc scarch lbr Lrst
it, that strict mrlralitv contests,ancl that derJicatcthcir
intimac'v,l:lut the profoLrnd.scparationbctw'crn intimar.r
uselul rcsor-trc'es
to thc sumptuarv dcstruc'tionsof arurhi-
anrl things is succ.ceclc-d
lrv a multiplic.itv oi r..,rnftrsions. tt'cturc, liturgv, an<lcontemplativeicllcnerss.
Intintacv - s.rlvation- is rcgartlt:d as a tl-ringcharactcrizc<l
b.r,indir,idtralitvand cluration(of thc ciperation).I)uration
is giren to it as a firun<lationoriginatingin tht'r.cinct-rnfclr

u4 lJ5
 CH, qpl'r , n I V

The Rise of I ndust r y

The Positing of a Conplete Lack of

R el ati on s Bet wet n Divine I nt im acv and
the R eal O r der
-l'hc u'orld <lf mcrliation is csscr.rtiallv
thc r.r'rlrlrlof n'orks.
onc's s.rlvationin thc samc \\'av that onc
One ac'l"ricves
spinsuool; that is, {rneacts,not accordingto thc intinratc
ortlcr, fronr violcnt impulscs and putting calculations
asi<le,but.rccc.,rding
to thc principlcsof thc uorld of pro-
dr.rction, rvith a vicrv to a futurc rt'sult, u'hich mattcrs
mr>rcthan thc satislactionof desircin the monrent.To bt'
exact, nonprodr.rctivcu'orks clo rese'rvca margin of s.-ttis-
faction in this u'orltl. It is mcritrlrious to irrtroclucca
rellcction o[ the divine splt'ndors (that is, of intirlacv)
here bclou.. Nolr', besiclcsthc merit that is attributcrl tcr
it, this act has its valuc in thc momt'nt. Btrt sccing that
cach possibilitymust bc subordinatedto thc busincssof
salvrtion, the contrarliction betu'ccn thc mcritorious act

u7
and thc divine splcn<lorsis t'r't'nn-rorcpainful than in thc
nroral uork, justificrl bv rt'asor.r.
Th t' t' ffc c t o f rv o rk si s c v t' n tu al l vto rci l uc' t' rl i ri ni tr' -
an< lth e rl e s i rr-l b r rl i v i n i tr' - o n (c a gai nt< ithi nghoorl .-l ' hc
basicoppositionbt'tu ccn thc'<lirint-and thc thinq, l>t'tnccn
rlivir.ri'intimac\.an(lthc u<lrlrl of thc oltt'ration,t'nrt'rqr'sin
the nt'gationof the valtrcof rvorks- in thc aflirmatiorrof a
complctc abst'r.tt't' of rclations lrt'tut'r'n rlivinc qrarc an<l
'l'hc
m c ri ts . n c g a ti o n o f th c ra l u c of rrorks - aftt' r thc
rational cxclusicinof tht: scnsuousu.'orll an<lthc immola-
t ion ri f th c rl i v i n i tr'- i s th c th i rd u av i n u hi ch tht' di r i nc i s
urt'nclic<lau.ar.fi'orn tht' or<lt'rof things. I-lutthis a<ln"rir-
ablt' rclirsalmakcs one think of the fcroln'ho lumpc<lintcr
thc rivrr to g('t out of the rain. No rlciubtthc rt'jcction of
u'orks is thc krgical criticisnr of tl.r' cornpromist's<if thc
uorltl of'mt'rliation,but it is not a c'omplctecriticism.Thc
th a t rc s t' n c s thc rcturn of krst i nti -
pr in ri p l c o f' s a l v a ti o r.r
macv lirr thc firtLrrt'and tbr thc u'<lrl<lbcvonil this onc
misst'sthc csscnceof thc rcturn, u.hich is nclt onlr that it
, . anb t' s u b o n l i n a tc rlto th a t n h i c h i t i s not, but that i t can
onlv bc givcn in tltc momcnt - anrl in thc immant,nct'of
thc hcrc-bclo\\'.. . . T'o uphol<la salvation<lcfcrrerlto thc
nc x t u rl rl d a n rl to rt' p tr< l i a tc
u o rks i s tr>fi rrgt' tthat i nti -
onlv lirr rnc - if thc tuo t('rms arc
rna(\' can lrc ri'g..rincrl
present- not intinracv u'ithotrt r.nr'.What tlclcsrt'storcrl
int im a c r n rc a ni n i ts c l f i f i t c s i ' a p csmc?' l ' hrouqhrccol l cc' -
88
tion, tht' transcr-nrlcncc<lf rt'as<lnmorncntarilv rcscrucrl
thought l}om thc prison of thc scnsuousu,orl<l;anrl thc
mt'diation that rlclircrs the <livine l}om thc rt'a[ ordcr
i ntro< l utest hc poucr lt 'ssncss
of uor ks onlr . bccauscof t ht '
absurdi tr of aban<loning
t ht 'her e- bclou. I n anv cast -onc
,
cannot p<-rsit
dirint' intimacv unlcssit is in thc ll.rrticrular,
u'ithout dclav, as thc possibilitr.of an immancnct' of thc
<lir,irre
onclol man.Ilut the positinqof dil ine immarrrnct'in
thc ncgationol thc valucclf rvorkscon'r1tlt'tcs
thc scparation
of the bcvonclan<lthe here-lrclou':hcncefirrth thc ht'rc-
bclou' is re<lucccl
to thinghririrl,ar-rcl
thc rlivineorclcrcannot
be brought into it - as it rvasin tht: nronumentsancl thc
religiousfcstivitics.
It is the most lreccssarl rcnuneiation in one scnsc:
insof-aras man ties himself entirclv to the rcal onler, inso-
far as hc limits himsclf to planning operations.Ilut it is
not a qut-stion of shor'r'ingthc por'r'crlessness
of the man
of ',r'orks; it is a question of tearing lrrdn awa\' lrom the
ordcr of lr,orks. And prcciselv the' opposite is accom-
plishcrl bv thc ncgation of thcir valur, u'hich surrcntlers
and cclnfinesnlan to them, changing thcir meaning. Tht'
ncgation of their valuc replacesthc lr'orld of norks sub-
ordinated to the intimate ordt'r rvith a u'orld in rvhich
thcir sovereigntvis consummated,a u'orlcl of nclrks har,-
ing no other purposc than its ou,n dcvclopmcnt. Con-
scquenth',production alone is accessiblcand u'orthv of
89
 lllN THE L M tTS OF l - IEAS( JN
]ISF OF IIiDUST RY

intercst h.rc-br'lo*'; the principlt' of

rlt,- rlas rccluircrl fbr the rational org.rrrizaticinof ln cnrpirc, .r.s
'.nP.<luc'ti'e
s t ^ rc ti o n i s g i rt' n rn l ' i n th t' b c ' o.rj , anrl i t cann.t l ra' c
con('crnsthe use <lf'thc rcsourc.csprclrluc.ctl, in thc lirst
anv valuc firr tht' hcrt'-bt.lou,.
phascthc orrler of things maintaincrlambiguousrclations
u'ith the archaicsocietv;production
remainednthordinated
to
General View, of the
nonproductircexpentlintre.
Re l a ti o n s o f P ro d u c ti o n to
C)nce the Iimit of grorrth u,as rca<,hetl,mc<liation
Nonproductive Destruction
brriught in rclations that u,crc just a.sambiguous but mort,
What this ncgation of tht, tlivinc r.aluc of
u.orks nrakcs conrplcx. Thcorcticallv, the usc <lf prorluction n.as sub-
possi[rlcis thc rcign of autonontousthings _ in
a u.rlrrl, ordinatcd to moralitr,, but moralitv ancl thc rlivine lvorld
thc l'orld of i'<|"rstrv.Irr art,haies.r.it,t\,,tht.rctirallv,
thc u,ere profbundlv intcrclcpcnclcnt.The dir.ine-u,orlcl rlren,
rr orlrl of thinqs rr-.r.s giverras an cncl lbr intintatc vicllt_nce,
its strcngth fiorn a riolent r.rc'gationrvhich it conrlcmnccl,
but i t c o u l rl b c th a t e n rl o n l r.o n onc conrl i ti on:
that thi s antl rt'mainerltlir.int.in spitc of its itlentificationn.itl.rthc
bc considerc,l.,,r...cign, th,rt it lrt. thc rcal c'rl.
''iolc'rcc
l rcal basi.sof moralitv, hencc u ith thc orrler of things.
ht ' ttrtt,,' rrrl ,r'
l l ro rl trtl i ' n * a r onl ' an .l nxi ' rrs r(.s(,r-\J- Unrlt'r thcst- c'onrlitionstht' clvcrt r.<lntracliction
tiorr; in realitr,, protluction of the
,,n, rul.or,l,,uotcJ
t,t nonproducti.e arc'haicu'orlil r,r,assucceederlbv thc apparcnt agrecment
Jc.rrrtrct
rott.
betu'r'cna nominal primacv of thc rlil'ine.,cclnsumingpro-
l'r thr: nrilitarr. ordt'r, thr- arailablc r(.sorrr(.(,s
of the cluction, and, strict[r' ovcrl.rppingit, in thcorv not
u'orld of things u.crc allor.att,d,in principle,to tht, l)re-
gron.th st'nting anl rlil}t'rt'ucc ficirn it, this no k'ss nonrinal pri-
of an cn-rpirc.projcc.tingbevonclthc c.loscrl..r,rnrrirnitics
macr':tlrc nroral orrlt'r, ticrl to 1'hc anrbiguitv
tou'arcl thc unir,crsal. ltrorlur.tir>n.
of archaicsocictv continut'rl,but uhcrcas in archaicsoc.i-
llut militarv activitv onl\ airns to givc-thc order
of ctv the <lt'strtrc
tion of resotrrct's\\.as supposetlto fivor
t lr in g s .c rrl r rr. .r rrrri t.r.s
r l ll i ,rm a n,l , al tr.,.
pnrrluction <lu'ingprccisclr,to its unlrrorh-rc:tive
natur(.(lts
.Solong as tlrc linrits of thc enrpir(,rvcr(,rrot
rt,achcrl, tlivinc naturc), the sclcit.tr.of nrctliation,claiming salva-
protluction had militan' forcc as its prinrarr. cnrl,
arrrl tion as its unpr<l<luctivt'
r'nrl,1tr<lpose<lto achit'vt'that cntl
u'hcn thesc linrits n'crc, rcac.hctl,militarv forr.c
u.as through prodLrctivc'operations. In this ambigLrouspt.r-
pushcclinto thc backgr,rlrn..l.
Mort,rlrrr, ..r.:r.1rtfirr u,hat
slrcctive,nctnproductit.e
dc.stntt'tionkepta sovcrei,qnshare,hut

90
9l
 Rf I IGION WI T H I N THE I I M I TS
t ol- t he pr oducti ve op er at i on g ener alh' domi not ed
!r'r,::,::': r',',
Consecluently,mcrclv bv disputing thc value of the
ope-rationinsof-aras its e.fferct\\rassupposed t<t be cxerted
in thc divine ordcr, one arrived at the rcign of the
autonomous procluctivc opt'ration. Acts c.casedto har,c a
subordinatc value u'ith regard to recliscovt-rcd intimacl.
(to salvation,or to the bringing of divinc splcndor into
this u'orld). Thus thc way \\'as clear for thc inrlefinitt:
development of clperative forces. Thc complcte scission
bctw'een thc intimate ordcr anrl thc onlcr of things had
the effcct ol .frecing productionfrom its archair. purpos('
(from the nonproductive destruction of its suryrlus) and
from the moral rulcs of'mediation. The exccssprocluction
could bc der.oted to the gnx,vth of the productivc cquip-
ment, to capitalist(or postcapitalist;accumulation.
The World of Complete Reduction,
or , th e R e i g n o f T h i n g s
Thc millcnial qucst for lost intimac'r. r,r,asabancloned bv
productive mankind, an'are of the futilitt of the operatir.e
u.ays, but unable to continue searching for that lr.hich
could not bc sought merelv bv the means it had.
Man bcgan to sav: "Lct us construct a lr.orld u.hosc
procluctir.e forces grclu' morc ancl more. Wc shall meet
mclre ancl more of our matcrial nccds."
92
Of FFASON
It soon bccamcapparcntthat bv bccomingman of thc
autonomous thing, man nas ber'oming more estrangerl
from himsclf than o'cr bcfbrc. This cornpletescissionsur-
rcnrlereclhis lifi' to a lnor.cmt'ntthat hc no longercontrollecl,
a movcment lvh<lsc cons(.quenccseventualh. frightencd
him. Logicallr,'this
mor.emcntengagcsa largc shareof pro-
duction in the installationof nov t'quipmcnt. It has t'limi-
nated thc possibilitvof an intcnscconsumption(commen-
suratc u,ith thc volumc of production) of thc exccss
rcsourccsprorltrccd:in fact, thc protluc.tscan bc delir.crerl
onlv if, in ordcr to obtain the ncccssarvcurrencv,thc con-
sumers agrcc in practicc to c.ollaboratein the cornmon
projcct of devclopingtht: mcansof prorluction.This proj-
cct is nhat matters anrl thcrt- is nothing prcfcrableto it.
'l'herc
is ccrtainlv nothing bcttcr that one can do. If onc
docs somcthing,obr,iouslvthis must be a participationin
tht- projcct, unlcss onc struggles to rnakc the latter mort'
rational (morc effcc'tir.efrom thc stanclpoint of der,.clop-
ment) bv rcr.olutionarvmcans. But no onc clisputcsthe
principlc of this sovercigntl'of sen,iturle.
IndeecJ,nothing can ber opposcd to it that might
dcstroy it. For nonc of thc former sovereign entitics is
able to step fcrrrvarclancl sclvercignlysav: "You r,r.illserve
m e.tt
The majority of mankinclhas gir.en its conscnt to the
industrialentcrprise,and u.'hatpresumLrsto go on existing
9l
alongsidcit givt-sthe imprcssion of a clcthroncclsovercigrr.
It is clear that thc majoritv of mankincl i.sright'.compared
to thc industrial rise, thc rcst is insignificant.I)oubtlcss
this majoritv has let itsclf be reducedto the orderof things.
But this generalized reduction, this perfcct firlf'illment of
the thing, is the ncccssarycondition lbr the c:onsciousantl
fully do.elopeclposingo[thc problem of man's reduction
to thinghood. Onlv in a u,orld r,r,herethe thing has
reducccl crven'thing, r,r.hercu hat r.r.'as
oncc opposed to it
rcvcalsthe povcrtv of equivocalpositions- and incvitablc
shifts - can intimac'yaffirm itself *'ithout anv morc com-
promiscs than thc thing. Only thc gigantic rlcvclopmcr.rt
ol thc means of procluction is capalrlcof fullv rcvcaling
thc meaning of procluction, u,hich is tl're nclnproductivc
consumption of u.ealth- thc fulllllment of scf-consciou.rness
iIr the lrec outbursts of thc intimate orrlcr. Br"rtthe momcnt
u'hcn cclnsciousncss,
rcllectingback on itself,rcrcals itself
to itsclf anrl sccs pr<xluctiondcstint'clto be consumt'd is
preciselvu'hcn the u'orlcl of prclductionno krnger knous
n'hat to do u'ith its proclucts.
T he C l e a r C o n s c i o u s n e s s o f
Things, or, Science
Thc conclitior-rfor achier,ingclear sclf-cclnsciousness
is sci-
cnce, uhich is the attainment of a clear consciousness of
t hc rc a l o rrl c -r(i .c ., o f th t' u ' o rl tl of obj tcts). S ci cncci s
closclr tic<l to thc autonorrv of things. Anrl it is itself
nothing br,rtthc autonomv of thc consciousncss
of things.
Although consciousncssturncd au'ay from thc intimate
order, r.vhich, as far as knorvledge goes, is thc orclcr of
mvthologv, it could not bc a clcar consciousncssof
objects so long as it u'as deltendenton mvthical detern.ri-
nations. In thc first cclnception,n'hcrc the tclol cstab-
hshcd thc transcentlenccof thc object, it uas onlv in thc
confuse<lform of thc spirit that consciousness
rlefinerlits
object. So it vvasnot a c'lcarconsciousncss
of therobject
pt-rccir,cdin a scparate(transcenrlent)u.ay: thc distinct
cclnsciousness
of the object lvas still nclt free clf thc st'nti-
ment of self. When attention u,as focused on sacrifice,
was at least separatcdfrom rcflcction on
consciousness
thc profanc thing, on thc intimacv of sacrificc, but it u,as
thcn cntirclr:'consumcdbv anguish,obscssccl
bv thc fccl-
ing of thc sacrccl.Thus the clear consci<)usncss
of objccts
\vas gi\,en onlv to the extt'nt that mclst of tht' attenticln
u,as drarvn au.av from thcm. l'he imprlrtance of clperative
forms and the development of manulacturing techniques
in the movemcntstl'ratucrc aimcclat an impcrial (r,rr"rivcr-
sal) organizationbrought back a part of the attention tcr
the u.orld of things. It rvas lr,hcn attcntion u,as clircctcrl
mainl", to things that gcncral lrccdom and tht' t ontradic:-
tion of jucJgmcntsbccamc possiblc. Human thought
escapedthe rigid rleterminationsof thc mvthical orcler
95
 r
and got rkllr'n to the u'ork of scicr.rcr',u'hcrt' objccts are
clcarlv and distinctlv knoun. Prccisc claritr. u'as thus
brought into consciousncss
and it organizcdthc rational
modes of consciousness.
llut as thc instrurncnt of knonl-
cdge developcd,pcoplc tricd to trscit to examincthc inti-
matc ordcr. In this u.av clear consciousnt-sslvas gir,e'na
hvbritl contcnt. 'l'ht' intimatc order, fundamentallvunreal,
aclaptcdits arbitran mvthical rcprcscntations to the logi-
cal forms of thc consciousncss
of clbjects.lt thus intro-
duce<lir.rtotht' u'hole domain of krrclrrlcrlgcthc sovcreign
ilccisionsthat do not expressd'rt:intimatc ordcr itself but
thc compromist'sthat cnablc it to rcmain intimate rrhilc
submitting to thc principlt'sof the real onler. It uas onh'
uith thc complete scissionof thc intimate an<lthc rcal,
and in the u'orlcl of thc autonomous thing, that scicnce
sloulv cscapcd from the hvbrirl fbrmr.rlationsof con-
sciousness.But in its complctt' succcssit c'onsummatt's
man's cstrangcmentlrclm himsclf anclrcalizt's,in the cast'
of thc scicntist,thc re<luctionof all lifc to thc real onler.
Thus knou'lt-dgc and activitv, <lcr,clopingconcurrentlv
uithclut subordinatingthcmsclvcsto one anotl'rcr,finallr.
cstablish a real, consummat(' u'orkl anil humanitv, fbr
rvhich the intimatc ordcr is rt'presentedonlr, through
prolongcd stammcrings. Thesc stammcrir.rgsstill have an
uncommon filrcc bccauscthcv still havc tht. r'irtuc of gen-
crallv opposingthc rt'alitv principlc uith drc principlc of
e6
intimacy, but thc goocl u,ill that rcccivcs thcm is aln ar,s
rnixcd rvith disappointment. FIolr. meek these voices
sccm. l'lorv defcnsclesstheir cquivocations leave us, laccd
u,ith thc clcar cxpression of rcalitv. Authoritv and
authenticitv arc entirclv on the side of things, of produc-
tion and consciousncss
of the thing produced.All thc rcst
is vanitv and confirsion.
This uncqual situation linallv posr.s the problem in
clerartenns. 'l'he intimate ordcr is not reached if it is not
erlcr.aterd
to thc authenticitv and authoritv of the real
u,orld and rcal hr.rmanitv.'l'his implics, as a matter of fact,
thc rcplacement of compromises bv a bringing of its con-
te'nts to light in the clomain of clear and autonomous
consciousncss
that sciencchas organizt-d.It implies SHI-F-
CONSCIOUSNESStaking up the lamp that sciencchas
maclc to illuminatc objects an<l dirccting it tou,ard
intimacy.
Self-consciousn ess
Thc authcnticitvof a usc of scienccadaptedto a knou'lerlgc
of tht.intimatt'orrlcr immecliatclvrulcs out thc possibilitv
of giving a lcarnt.rlfclnn to thc autonomousdcclarationsof
mcn or intimacv. In thc rclationship bt-tuecn otrjcctive
knoulcdge anrl intimacr-'thcrc is doubdessa primarv <lif'-
tcrcnce: thc objcct can aluavs cxpcct thc light that uill
illuminatc it u hcrt'asintimac'r'scckingthc light cannot ('x-
91
 RFL GION WI f HIN THE IIMITS OF
IX'(t it to bc prcljcc'tt'<l corrt'ctlr. tl thc rt'.storationof'tht'
< l rtl c ri s to b c a c h i c v t' tli n tht' s1tht' rt' ttfcl carcol .t-
ir r t ir . n a tc
sciousncss,r hich alonc has thc filrct' tcl rcscue intimacv
it still cannot bt' achit'rc<lthr<ltrgha
from t'quir'ocatiotrs,
suspt'rrsion Arttl insclfhras thc u'ill t<i
of intimatt-existc'trc't'.
clcar consci<)usn(-ss is involvcd, intimac'vuill appcarto llc
'l'ht'
immt'tliatelr gir cn in the sphcrcof tlistinct knou lctlge.
rlifllcultr, of making rlistint't knon'lctlgc atrd th.' intimatc
orclcr coinc'iclcis clueto their contrar\.modcs of cxistence
in tinre. l)ir ine lif-eis imnrc<liatc,nlrt'rcasknorvlerlgt'is art
antl rr aitirtg.Ansrvt'ring
opcratirinthat rt'cluircssttspt'trsiotr
to tl'rt' tt'mporal immctliai'v of thc rlivinc lifc, tht'rt u'as
th<lught.Antl intimatt'
rnvth and the lirrms of t:quir'<lcal
crpt'ricnct' can tloulrtlcssabanrlonmlsticism, but t'r'crt'
time it takesplacc it must bc a complctc ans\\r'r to a total
quc s tro n .
This lxing truc, llo onc c.tn corrcctlr attslvc'rthe
rcquirement given in thc f<rrms of obicctive knou'lt'clge
except bv positing a non-knou'lcclgc.Irrespcctii'eof tht'
non-knouledge
thct that tlre aflinnation o[a firtrtlamt'rrtal
rnav l>cjustificd on othcr grounrls,thc clcar consclotlsnerss
of uhat is at stake irnmt'cliatclvtics dil'ine lilc t.-,a r('({){-
nition of its olrscurcnatttrc, clf thc rright that it opcns t()
discursivcknou leclgt'.l'his immediatccttittc'itlcnt't'<lfclcar
and thc unf-etteringof thc intinrateorilcr is
consc'iousttt'ss
not iust manilt'stc<lin thc ncgationof tratlitiotral1>rcsup-
98
R EASON
RISF OF INt)LJST RY
positior.rs;it implics the h,r'pothesisfbrrnulatc,<l
once,an<l
for all: "Lrtimacv is thc limit of crlc.rrconsciousncss;
clcar
consciousncss
cannot clcarlr,and distinctlv knorv anvthing
concerning intimacl', cx(,ept fbr thc mocliflcationsof
things that are linkccl to it." (We rlon't ftnon.anr.thing
corrccrninganguishexccpt insof-aras it is implie.din thc
fait of' the inrpo-ssi61c
operation.)Self-c.<lnsci<lusnr-ss
thus
cscal)csthc clilcmmaof tlre sirlultaneousrequirt,nrcntof
immediacv an<lof the opcration.The immcdiatc negation
clivcrts thc opcration touard things anrl touarcl thc tlcl-
main of rluration.
The u.eaknessof traclitional understandingsof thc
intirnate order resiclesin the lact that thev har.e alrvavs
i nl ol verl i t in t ht ' opt 'r at ion;t hcr . lr . r r e, , it h. . rat t r ilr r r t . . t l
thc opcrativerqr,ralitvto it, or thcy have sought to attain
it bv u'ar,o[ tlre operation.Man placing his essencein the
opcration obviouslr cannot bring it abor-rtthat thcrc is not
some link u'ithin him bctuetn thc opcration and inti_
macr,'.It uould be neccssarvcither for intimacv clr filr the
operation to be elinrinated.But, being reduced to tliing-
hood bv thc opcration, all that hercan do is to unclertake
thc contrar,v'
operation,a reductionof' the reduction.
In othcr uords, thc ucaknr-ssof thc variou.srcligious
positions is in having unclcrgonethe dcbasementof thc
onler of things u.ithout har.ingtried to modifv it. With-
out t'xccption. thc rcligionsof mcdiation lcft it as it n,as,
99
 f
tll:lF (fF ll!DUST lty
N THE lMll!:j OF RE

The General Destruction of Things

crountcring it onlv \\'ith thc limits of moralitv. Likc thc
T'r bigi' r'r'ith,*c l'rareclcar consc.iousncss
an'haic religions,thev expressh'proposetlto mairltain it, i' its elab.-
ratcd fbrrn. []urtht'r, the of prrclut.tici., the ,^lcr
ncvcr litiing it unlt'sstho' had first cnsurcrl its stabilitv. hr 'orld
of things, has rcachctl thc point of cler.clopmcntu.hcrc it
d're encl,thc' rcalitv princillle triumllhed o't'erintitnac:r"
is not rcallv does nclt knou r'r'hatto tlr uith it. pr,,,lucts. -fht. first
What is rt'quircd bv sclf-consciousncss
'l-heintimate ortler colrditi'n makt:sdestructior p'ssible; the secondmakesit
thc dcstructic-,nof thc ordt'r of things.
ncccssar\'.Ilut this cannot bc donc in the cmpvrean,that
cannot truh' destr<tvthc ordc-r of things (just as drt' orcler
is, in unrealitv, to w'hich thc religior-rs
approach usuallv
of things has never comllletelv dcstroved the intimatc
leads.The moment of decisionrlemands,on thc contrarv,
ortlcr). But this rcal uorlcl having rcachcd tht apcx of its
a considcrationclf tlre poorcst and least intim.rtt.aspe(,ts
rlclclopmcnt catt bc dcstrovcd,in thc sctrsctlurt it tall bc
catl- of thc problenr. Wt' must dcsc.enrlnolr. to the lor.r.estler el
to intimacv. Strictlv spcaking,cctnsciousncss
rc<lucc<l
of the lr.orld of man's reducticin to thinghoorl.
nclt makc intimacv reclucible to it, but it can reclaim its
I can shut mvsclf up in mr. r..,n., .r-,-,1
look there for
or'r'n operaticlns, rccallitulating thcm in rcI'erse,so that
the clear an<l clistinct r.neaningrif thc objects that sur-
tht'r' ultirnatclr canct-l erttt anrl cotrscitlusnt'ssitsL'lf is
round mc.
strictlv reducerlto intimact. Of ctlurscthis crlttnteroPcra-
Here is mr table, mv c.hair,mv bcd. J'hr:v are ht,re as
tion is not in anr'\\'a\'oPPose(ltcl thc movcmt'ttt of ton-
a result of labor. hr ordcr to makc thcm and install thcm
rcducctl to that uhith it csscntiallris - t<l that
sciousr.rt'ss
in mv room it u'as necessarvto forcgo the itrtercst of thc
u'hich, lrom thc start, cach onc of tts alrvavsktleu it uas'
rlnlv in one st'nsc.It momcnt. As a matter of'f.ict I ml.sclf had to u.ork to par.
lJut this u,ill be clcar consciotlsncss
for thr.m. tha t is, ir r t hcor r , I h. r . l r . , t om pcnsat t , t o. t h"
u'ill rcgain intimao'onlv it.tclarkness.In so <loing,it uill
labor of the r.r'orkers n.ho madc thcm or transportcd
havc rt-achc.ltht' highesttlegrcc of tlistinct tlaritr'' br-rtit
thcm, r'rith a picirc of labor just as uscful as thcirs. Thcse
u ill so fulh' realizcthc possibilitvof man, or rtf being,that
pro<luctsof labor allou. me to u.nrk and I rvill bc ablc to
it u'ill rcclisrovcrthc night of thc anin'ralintimatc u'ith thc
pav lor thc u'ork of thc butcher, the baker, and thc,
n,rrlrl - into u'hichit will enter.
farnt'r *ho *'ill (-'srlrc m' sur'i'al a'rl the ccirtinuaticln
clf'mv vrork.

r0 0 l0r
 Nou I plac'era largc glass of alcohol on rnv tablc
I har.cbere'nuseful. I havc lrought a tablc, a glass,etc.
But this tablc is IX)t a mcans o[ labor: it helps mc ttr
clrink alcohol.
In st'ttingmv drinking glasson thc tablc, to thilt cxtent
I havedestrqr, t1,, pl',\e,or at le'astI liave <lcstrovcclthc
l;rlrorth,rt rr as ne. ,l.., l l t r m.rkc it .
Of coursc I have llrst conrple'tclvdcstroved the labor of
the u-itrtgrorvcr,u hcrtils ml' absorptionhas onh' dcstr<llecl
a nrinutt' amortntof thc carpcnter'slahor' At lt'astthis ta[>lt-
in this room, hcavv u ith the chainsclf l.rbor' for a time harl
no otltrr pLlrposcthan mv brcakingloosc'
I anr nou going to rccall thc use I have madc of the
moncv carned at mv rvork tablc.
If I havc lr'astcd part of that l.nonev,u'asted part of thc
timer the rest cnablcd mc to livc, the dcstruction of thc
tablc is alreatlvmorc atlvanced.Ilad I just oncc scizerd
thc
moment bv the hair, all tht'preceding tirnc',roultl alrea<lv
bc in the po\\'cr of that tnoment seized. And all the
srrpplies,all the jobs that allou'edme to do so rvoulclsud-
dcnlv bc dcstroved;likc a river, thev u'oulti drain cnd-
lc'sslr.into the oct-anof that bricf instant.
In this u'orld thcre is Iro immense untlcrtaking that
has anv other cnd than a dcfirtitive'loss in the futilc
nrom('nt. Jtrst as thc urrrld of things is nothing in thc
102
supcrlluous univcrsc u.hcre it is clissolr.ecl, the mass ol
cflbrts is nothing n('\t to thc lutilitr o[ a singlc mornenr.
-l'he frcc
vet submissir.t,momt.nt, furtivcl.v inr.olrc<lin
minutc opcraticlnsbv the fear of letting onesclf 1o.sc rjmc is
uhat Ju.stif icst ht pcjr r r at ir er aluc , , f t lr . , r onl iut ile.
This introduccs,as a basis for cleor.scfconsciou.sncss,
a
consideration of the .[rjects tl.rat arc cliss'lr.erclanr]
dcstr'rcd i'thc intir-natcmonlert. rt is a return t<l thc
situaticlnof the animal that eats another animal; it is a
negatior.rof'thc differcncebetuecn thc object and nrvsclf
or thc general destruc:tionof <lbjcctsas suclr in th. fi..l,l
of consciousnt'ss.
Insofaras I clestrovit in thc-Iieltl of mr.
(l (' Jr (()ns( iousnes\t.his t ablc t . east , t: , f or m , li. t in. lt
,r
and opaqur- ,screcnbctr.r'ecrrthe r,rorld and mt. Ilut this
table cor-rlclnot bc clcstrovcdin thc fleld of mv c.onsc.rous_
nessif I did not gir.c my rlcstructiotrits;..,rl,r"qu.-nr.tsin
tlre rcal rirrler. Tl'rc real rcducti.r.r of thc redu.ti.. of thc,
rcal <>rderbrings a fr-rndamentalrevcrsal into the cc.o_
nomic order. lf u,e.are to prescn,ethc mor,cmentof thc
econ()*Jr' *c nee<lt. deterrnine thr. pciint at *hich tht'
cxcessproduction r.rill flou likc a rir ff to rheour.sjt?e.
It is
a mattcr of cn<llcsslvconsum ing- or ilcst r or ing - t he
,l rj t' tts th.rt a r t - l'his
Pr r , lu. cr l. t 'r lukl just . r s*<'ll [ r c'r r ''. ,
* ithc^rt thc lcast con-scio,.snes.r. But it is i'rsofbr as clcar
c.ns.ious'ess prcr.ailsthat thc .bjects actualh,dr-str.vecl
l0l
 WI T I ] I N LIMITS OF R EASON
REI IGION

uill not clestrov humanitv itself. Thc destruction of thc

subject as an indiviclual is in fact impliccl in thc tlestruc'-
tion of the objerctas such' but n'ar is not the inevitablc
form of the destruction:at anYratc, it is not thc ctlnscious
is to bc, in thc gcneral
form (that is, if sclf-consciousness
sensc.human).

104
 :
c

I
Y

Thc positing of a rcligious attituclc that q ould rcsult fron.r

clcar consciousn('ss,and r'r'oultlexcluclc,if not thc ecstatic
fbrm of religion, then at least its mvstical fbrm, differs
radicallv from the attcmpts at fusion that excrcisemintls
anxious to remedy the u'cakness of currct'rt rcligious
positions.
Thost' in thc religious rvorkl u'ho arc alar-rneclabout
thc lack of harmonv, lr,ho look f<rr the link betuet'n thc
rliffi:rcnt disciplincs, r'r'ho are tletermined to dcnv that
u'hich opposcstht- sannvasito the Roman prelate,or thc
Sufi to the Kicrkcgaardian pastor, complete tht: emascu-
lation - on both siclcs- of that rrhich alrcaclvoriginates
in a conrprotniscof tl.rcintinratc ortlcr uith the orclcr ttf
things. The spirit larthest rcmolt'd lrom thc virilitv
is thc spirit
necessaryfor joining violenceand consciottsnc.s-s
of "svlrthesis."l'he endcavorto sun) up that u'hith scpa-

r09
 Y

ratc rcligior-lspossibilitieshar,c revealcd, and to makc

nholc, rlissolvcsinto ttars, into ecstasv
their shared contcnt the principle of a human lifc raiserl and intcl bursts of
laughtcr, and rc'r,ealsthe impossiblc
to universality, sccms unassailabledcspite its insipicl in lat,ghter,ccstasv,
or tcars. But the impclssiblethus
rcsults, but for anvonc to v'homhuman life is on cxperience rer.ealc,l i, n.,t an
ecluivo<'alposition; it is thc s<llcrcignsclf_consc.iousncss
to be carriedas.laraspossible,theruniyersolsum is necessarily
that, preciseh', no lclngi'r turns au,av
that of thc rcligious scnsibilitv in time. Svnthesisis most from itself.

clearlr, rvhat rcvcals the nced to firmlv link this u'orld to

that rvhich the rcligious sensibilitvis in its univcrsalsum
in time. This clear revclationof a declineof the rvholc lir.-
ing rcligious lr'orld (salient in thesc synthetic forms tliat
abandonthe narrorvnessof a trarlition) u.as not givcn so
long as thc archaic manifestations of religious feeling
appeared to us indcpendently of their meaning, like
hieroglvphs that could be clcciphered only in a formal
r.vay;but if that mcaning is norv given, if, in particular, the
bchavior of sacrifice, thc least clear but the most dir,inc
and thc most common, ceascsto be closcd to us, thc
u.holc of human cxperience is rcstored to r"rs.Ancl if rve
raisc ourseh.'espersonallv to the highcst degrercof clear
consciclusncss,
it is no longer the scn'ile thing in us, but
rathcr the sovereignrvhosc presencc in the world, from
hcad to fcrot, from animality to sciencc and from thc
archaic tool to thc non-senscof poetrv, is that of unir,er-
sal humanitv. Sovt-reignty dcsignates the mor.emcnt of
frcc and internallv lr.rernchingviolcncc that animates the

110
rll
 ' l ' () ttl r (A R R l ti l ) A \
fO WFI()M Ll l -l : IS A N l -.X I' l i R Il i N (l

,.,
FA R A S P OS S (IIL[;.

I have not meant t<l t'xprt'ssmv thought but to

help vou clarifr- rvhat )*ou vourself think. . . '

You are not anv more tliffcrcnt lrom me than

vour right leg is from vour left, but u'hat joins us
i s TH tr S I Ll -l l 'Ol i R IA S ()N - W Itl C tl I' R ()l )tl (' F.SN { ()N SfLI{ S .
 Apt,t-Nl)tx

Gener al T abl e

an d Ref er en c es
I fecl obligcclto prerscnta table* that makesit possibleto
visualizethe successivepossibiliticsas a singlc do'clop-
ment. This figure emphasizesthe dialectical charactt'r of
the rlevelopment rvhose phasesgo from opposition to
opposition and from stagnationto movement. But abovc
all it offcrs thc aclvantagcof bcing clcar.
Unfortunatelv this claritv has its draw'backs.
It tcnds to dcprivc mv exposition of a virtr"rcthat it
mtrst claim.
As far as possible,I have tried to present the foregoing
logical movement in thc forrn it rvoulcl havc in thc final
statc of consciousncss,that is, clt'tachcdfrom an elabclra-
ti on of i ts hist or ical or et hnogr aphic f or m s. For t his
rcason,I have excluded discussionof thosc lorrns as *cll
as rcfcrenccs pcrtaining to thcm.

*'['ht'etli tor of B atai l l c ' sc ompl ete tr' ork s nott,s that thi s tabl t' uas

not fi runrl am ong th< ' author' s papers .Itrans . notc ]

t17
 <lid not lrarc to rlakc anr, substantialthalrges.(iircn thc
I uas all thc less inclincclto link thcse develoPnlellts
gcnrral coht - sion,a just if ied cont r ar lict ir t n is not t hc
to an analvstsof thc particular rcalities as tht:v are dis-
attatk that thc c<;ntradictoreasilyimagint:s;it is a help. (l
t inc t lv s c p a ra t(' fro m th c l a tte r: b v defi ni ti on thtsc
arn happv to citt' as an ('xanllllethe f rien<llvinten cnticlns
realitics corresponcl in a callrititlus, imllerf'cct rvav to the
of Mircca Eliod.-' it u,as onc of thcm in particular that
necessitvthcl' cxpress.In the last instancethis ncccssitv
crrablcdrnc to situatc the "supreme lrcing" in the urrrlcl
m av har e o p e ra tc c l u n rc s c n ' c d l v u ' i t hotrt t-r' er hari ng
of spirits.) Whilc it is truc that a cohesionmust n(,ce.ssAr-
bccn inevitablc at a prccisc moment. Forms that I have
ilr,'distanccitself from the capriciousclataof thc historical
presentcd as being inti:gral u'ith one anothcr maY havt'
w'orlcl,there is not one of theseclatathat <lncshotil<lnot
devcloped at timcs one after the othcr. Morcover, I havt'
trv to n:<lucc to the r,r.hcllcand onlv insofar as thc u'hole
had to articulatc the stagesof a mon'cment as il there
has bccn polishedbv thesc rcrluctionscan it casilvreveal
\\'ere a discontinuitv, rvhcrcas continuity is thc rulc and
to others the contorts of tht:ir clw.nthought.
transitional forrns havc a t:onsiderableplacc in historv'
I u'ould likc. to hclp mv t-cllou'beings gct uscd to thc
Ilvbrid forms, rcsulting from contacts in time of rcrv
idca of aD open movement rtf reflection. This moveme'nt
dilferent cir,'ilizations,also introduce conlusion' Finallv, it
at .r particular has nothing to conceal,nothing to fcar. It is tnre that ther
is clcar that conditions rcgularly 1>resent
resultsof thought are strangelvtied to testsof rivalry. No
stagc may rtaPPear ancl bcconre operatilc at stlme sub-
one can entirelv separateu'hat hc thinks lrorn the real
scqut-nt stage.
authoritv thc cxpressionolr this thought nill h.rrc. And
O f c o u rs c th i s a p p a re rl t ta s tta l n cssdoes not at al l
authoritv is acquircd in thc courseof gamesrrhose trarli-
pr ec lude p o s s i b l c , c l r ra th e r, n c c c s sarY ,di scussi ons.I
ti < l nal , somc r vhat ar bit r ar l, m les oblige t he one- nhcr
repeat that this piece of rvork is lar from completion' And
cxpresseshimsclf to give his thought tht' idea o[a flau'lcss
in fact the completeclnork, if it is possiblc,should rcsult
It is a common crror of persllcc- and dcfi ni ti vc oper at ion. J'his is an cnt ir cly excusable
{iom such cliscussions.
comcclv,but it isolatesthought in bird-likc clisplarsthat
tive to think that trv contesting a particular point onc
ncl longer havc anvthing to clclu'ith a rcal proccss,ne(.es-
contests thc soliditv of thc outlined lr'holc. J'his u'holc is
sarih' painful anrl opcn, aln'ays secking hclp and ncvcr
itself the rcsult of mv o\\'n ct.rntestationsancl not onc of
admiration.
them failcd to enrich it, although, past a ccrtain point, I

il8 I l9

This iustification of thc mcthod follou'ccl dot's t.tot
prevtrnt mc from sccing its rcal disa<lvantagcs,lr'hich
concern intelligibility. Hven if rcpresentationsdo not take
on their full meaning until thev dctach themsclvcs from
therrcalities to u'hich they rcfcr (u,ithout being positivcl-v
grounded in any of thcm in particular), they rvill not be
fullv unclerstandablcif thev do not ir-rgt-ncral shed light
on thc historical forms. This schema, uhich needed to
svstcmaticallvavoid prccise refercnces,u'as nonethe-lerss
to be folloned bl' an elucidationof history u'ith thc help
of its figures.
I r.villconfine mvsclf, howcvcr, to tlnc cxample choscn
u ith the intcntion of shorving ir.ra general rvav the frcc-
dom that is nccessaryto this modc o[ intcrprctation.
Therreshoulcl be some point in stating herc that Islam
cannot gcnerally bc regardcclas a form corresponding tcr
a s inglc o n e o f th c d e l i n i ti o n s g i v e n . From the outsct
Islam u'as a military orcler, limiting, even more strictlv
than others, those activitics ll'hoscrPurPoselvas not force
and militarv conquest.But it pre'scntsthese pcculiarities:
it rvcnt, surldenlyand discontinuouslv,lrom a spendthrifi
archaiccivilizationto a n'rilitarvonc; but it clid not realizc
all t he po s s i b i l i ti e so f th c l a tte r, fo r o t the sameti me i t
expcricncerd,in an abridged fonn as it u'crc, the devclop-
mcnt of an cconomv of salvation.Hencerirt its first phasc
it dicl not have'all thc charactcristicsof thc militarv or<ler
120
IN BLI: AND REFERENCES
nor all those of the cconomy of salr.ation.In thc first placc
it n'as nclt amenablcto the autonomousdcr.elopmcntof
clear consciousnesscir of philosophy (yct, through the
ic:onoclasmthat it opposed to thc }Jyzantinchicratism, it
n'ent furthcr than the crlassicr rnilitarrr ordcr in rcducirrq
thc forms of ar t t o r cason) . Second,it <lispense<J r vit t
mecl i ati on and upheld a t r anscendenccof t hc divine
lr'orld, rvhich conformed to the military tvpc of a violencc
dircctccl to the outsidc. But lr,hat is true of carlv Islam is
not at all trr.reof latc Islam. Once thel4oslemempi,re rcachecl
its limits of growth, Islam bccamc a perfcct cconomv of
salvation.It mcrelv had forms of mcdiation that u.erelcss
pronouncccl ancl morc pathetic than Christianity. But like
christianitv it ga',e.rise to a c.stlv spirituallilc. Mvsticism
and monasticism devclopcrl; the arts remainccl in princi-
ple u.'ithin the limits of iconoclasmbut escaperd rational
simplification in every rl.av. Olr,ing to the rclatively small
part plavcd by internal violcnce, Islam rvas cven the most
stable of thc diffc.rent economicsof salvation,the,one that
bcst ensurcd the stabilitv of a societv.
'fhis kind of application
of a method aims to shou,,on
the one hand, thc distance that separatcsfrom rcality thc
figuresof a schema,and on thc otherrhan<I,the possibilitv
of rcciucing reality afler the_.event.
'fhc refercnccs
that follolr, are subjcct to thc same
rcservation.But likc thcst'applications,thev shoukl hclp
l2l
 -r-

AND

to situatca constructionthat is rather ocltllvcliscorlnccted Eulrt, l)unrnelr\{. 7he Elementor,t'

Lormsol the Religious
Lili,
from its foun<lations.Whilt' n.raintainingthc tletac'hcrl Frct' l )ress , 1965. hnr ile Dur khcim sccm s t o r ne t o bc

charactcrof n'rv statcmcnts,it secnls1>ttssilllt', or should I unjustlv rlisparagednona<lavs.I take m1'distancefrom his
in a gt:neral dclctrir.re
but not uithout retaining its essentiallessons.
,l , qfter the etent, to conn('ct them
say, nccessar
\vav to somc of their origins. I clo this in thc lbrm of
refcrt:nccsto n'ritings rvhoseauthors in somc tlav movt'cl Alt,xRNuRt' Ko1tvl. lntroductionto the Reading9J Hegel,

tou'arrl thc prccisetonceptionsolthis "thcclrv," <lr rth<lsc C'ornell Llnivcrsitv Prtss, 1980. This rvork is an cxplica-

r.ontents ol-fcr reft'rt'nc:cpttints that gr-ridcdmv stcPs' tion of Flegel'sPhenomenologt

of the Spirir.The ideasthat

I rvill give thcm in ratrdom scquenc'e'firllorl ing thc I havc tlerelopcd herc.are substantiallvpresent in it. Thc

alph.rbeticalordcr of the authors' nalnes. cclrrcspondcncesbetr,r'centhe Hegelian analvsisand this

"thcory of religion" n'ould still nced to lrc specifierl.The

Groncts I)utl,t(,ztr..llitra-Varttna,Zone Books, l9tl8. The diffcrcnces betrvcen the tu,cl rcprescntationsappcar to mc

interprctations of Indo-EuroPeanmythologv that are Pur- to be easill' recluciblc. Thc main cliffercnce conccrns the

sued in thc a<lmirablcu'orks of GeorgesDum6zil, espe- conccpti on t hat m akes t hc dcst r uct ion of t he subjcct

i ially tlrost' lcrurrd in this voltrrl're- aftcr Ouranos-Voruna the conrlition - neccssarilvunrealizable- clf its adcqua-

( 19I I ) .rr.rilF/amine - Brahntone ( 193l) - ('orrtsPond to thc tion to thc objcct. I)otrbtlessthis implies lrom thr- start a

c ons t r uc ti o n s th a t I h a v e c l e v e l o p e d:tht- consci ousl v stateof mind radicall,vopposedto Hegelian"satisfhction,"

Hegelian th e s e s ,a n ti th c -s e sa, n d s v n t hescsof (i eorgcs lrut hen: the contraries cclincicle(thev onlv c'<lincicle,
and
I)um6zil set forth the oppositionof pure violencrc(on the the <lppositionin rvhich thcv coincidc cannot this time be

dark antl nralcfic sicleof the divinc norltl - \'artlna antl ovcrcomc bv anv svnthesis:there is an irlentitl' of' the:

thc Gandhana, Ror.nulusand thc Lupcrci) to tht' divint' particular bcing and the univcrsal,and thc unilersal is not
ordcr that ac:cortlsu'ith prof'aneactilitv (Mitra and thc trulv giren exccpt in the mediation of particularitv, but

Brahmans,Nttma, [)ius Fidius and thc Flamincs),and its the resolution of the indivirlual into the non-inclividu.rl

rcsolution in the erternal and efficaciousviolence of a cloesnot o\.crcorne pain [or painful jov] exc'cpt in dr.ath,

human anrl rational militarv <lrdcr. or in thc state of atararia * ccltrparableto thc <lcath<lf
conrDlctt'satislartionllrcnte thr mainttttanlt' of the rcso-

122 l2l
 TABLT' AND REFERFNCES

lution at the lervclprior to ecstasy,u'hic'his not a rt'solu-

basisof anl undcrstanrlingol' (,(.on()m\.as bcing tierl
to
). Il a v i n g h a d to c i tc th t- u rirk of A l cxantl re
t ion. . .
li rr.rs of rlt'str.r'ti.' of tht' cxc't'ss'l' trc:tir,e
acti'itr..
Koji'vc herc, I must emphasizt'one point: uhrtevcr oltin- 1>r'rl

ion onc may have of thc c'orrectncss

of his intcrytrctation
Stlt'st- PF.lRt,r,l},Nt..
Le dualisntcdons l'11ist()rede la
of Hc gc l (a n rl I b e l i e v c th c p o s s i b l e c' ri ti ci srnson thi s
philttutphtcet tlesrcli,qion.r, p6trc_
G.rllirnarrl,1946. Sirnor.rc
priint shriukl be assignt'rlonlv a limitt'd valucl, this /nrro-
nrt'nt' u host'moral position is that of the ancielrtgnostics,
duc t ion, re l a ti rc l v a c c e s s i b l c ,i s n o t onl y tht: pri mary
l)rcscuts thr- qrrestirn of tht' lrist'r' d..-rlis' *'itlr a
instrttmcnt ol self-consciousnes.s;
it is thc only uav to vicu' 'l'
r.r.rarkablc clarit' in this littlc [ro,rk. Startirg li.m
t hc r ar iou sa s p e c tso l h u m a n l i f' t - th e p ol i ti i al as1> ccts hr-r
in
< l ata,I ha' c. '. hr ". l t he t r ar r sit io,lr <; r 'ar ch. r ii, - , lualir 'r
particular - <liffcrenth'frrim the nav a chikl viovs tht' t,
tht' tlualisr.ro1'spiritz'rrattcr,or rathcr,'f tr.rrs.c'rlcr.rcc
actions of arlults.No one today can claim tcl be t:rh.rc.atcd
s('llsu()us
u or-kl,tht' onh rlualisr.nrrrnsirk-rerllrv tl,rt,atrthor.
its contcnts.(l u,oukl also like
withor.rthaving assirnilatr-d
tcl unclerscorcthe fhct that Alerandrc Kcljive's intulrc-
BrnN,lHnlno l)F S.{HA(;[rN . (]enerol Hi.strtr.tol thc I'hinosof'
taticln clot'snot dcliatt' in anv n'at. fr<lnrMarxism; sinri-
N crr .\pui n,Llnir er sit r . of LI t ah pr ess, 1974- 1982. . f his
l.rrh', it is easv to see that thc present "tht-cln," is alu.ays
spa.i sh nro . k's i'r 'est igat i. r r co'dit i"s il- rJlr r . xic.
rig<lrcluslt'
bascdon ec'onomicanah'sis.) 'f
pri or to th c ( ionqucst , especially,his inclt r ir v int o t he
human sacrificcscclebratcdin grcat numhers in the tem_
SyLi',llNI-it'1.la doctrinedu sacrilice
dans1c-s
hrahntanas,
F'
pl es of Mexiccl, n'as c. onr lur , t eilusing Azt t , c inf br m ant s
Lerour, 189U.Thc interpretationof sacriflccis the fbun-
nho had bcen n. it ncsst s.I t is t hr m ir t r t , liablr and t he
daticlnof "-se{-66n.iaiou.snc-n."
S_r,lvain
[.dri's u'clrk is ont- <lf
m'st clctailecl<lclcument*'er ha'e c'ncerning the tcrriblc
thc cssentialcontp()nentsof that interprctation.
aspcctsof sacrificc.Wc must nccessarilyrejcct the rep_
rc'scntations
o[ man or clf religion that leare.tht,ir t,xtremt,
MAtt(tt't.M.litss. Sacrilice:
1rs\'orure an<lFLtnctiL'tn,
Llniver- fcrnnsun<lcrthe cloak of an allcgedmonstrousncss.
Onh.
sitv of Chicago Prcss, 1969. l-haGili, Norton, 1967.-l'ht'
an imagerthat shines through thcm mcasuresup to thc
flrst of thesc uorks is thc atrthclritatirt'trt'atnrent <lf tht'
intimate ntovcmcnts that r.onscrousness turns au.av lrom
data on ancicrrts.r<rrilkc.'l hc st'<,ondfilnus the
histclricral
htrt that it mtrst ultimatell' rcturn to.

t) J
t25
 Y

]RY Of RELIG ON

R. H. T',qwNr.vReligionond the Riseo-f Capitalism,Llar_

court, Brace,& L'o., 1926.This book'.sanalvscs,baserlon
a u, eal th o f i n fo rma ti o n , s h o u th c i mpcl rtanccof the
clclil>eraterlisjunc.tio, of tlrc sat-rr.,l.rnclp*l[a.e *,orlcls
that u.asat thc origin of capitalism.Pnrtcstantismintr<l-
tluccrl the possibilitv rif tlris disjurrctionbv rlcnting tlie I
rcligious value of u orks: the u orkl of the opcrative fbrms
of ct'onomic .rctivitl thus rct.t,ivc<l
- but in the trrurse of
time - an autonomv that cnabled the rapid increaseof
inclustrialaccunrulation.

M.qx Wl,Hr-R.The ProtestontEthicand the Spiritof- Capitol_

ism, Macmillan, 197'7.Max Wcber's lamous studv linked,
for thc first timc in a preci.se.rrar',
thc ven,po.ssibilitl.of
accumulatirin (of the use of w,ealth for devcloping thc
forccs of produc.tiorr)to the po.sitingof a dirirrc u.orkl
that had no conceir.ableconncction u,ith thc here-bclou.,
n'here thc operatirt- form ('calc.ulation,
.selfishncs.s)
ratli_
callv scparatestherglorious consumption of rvcalth from
the divine ordcr. Morc than Tarvno., Max Wcbcr <lncllcd
on the decisivc changc introduccd bv thc Rcfbnr-ration,
u,hich made accumulation basir.allr.possiblc lrr. clcnvirrg
the r'alue of n'orks and by cclndcmning nonprocluctivc
expcncliture.

t26