Bataille’s philosophy emphasizes the destruction of war and conflict

Moreover, the cultural attitudes of both Spe\ngler and Bataille are linked by an aesthetics of violence that is highly characteristic of the “front generation.” In a key passage in The Decline of the West, Spemgler, depicting the “life-world” of blood and instinct that had been repressed by the Faustian spirit of modernity, observes: “War is the primary politics of everything that lives and so much so that in the depths battle and life are one, and being will-to-battle expire together.”28 Similarly, for Junger, “War is an intoxication beyond all bonds. It is a frenzy without cautions and limits comparable only to the forces of nature.”29 Bataille (the meaning of his name in French should be recalled), too, is convinced that “conflict is life. Man’s value depends on his aggressive strength. A living man regards death as the fulfillment of life; he does not see it as misfortune. ...I MYSELF AM WAR.”30 As Jay observes in this connection: “on a deeper level, the war [World War I] seems to have exercised a certain positive fascination [on Bataille]. For it is striking that many of Bataille’s obsessive themes would betray an affinity for the experiences of degradation, pollution, violence, and communal bonding that were characteristic of life in the trenches.”