Georges Bataille (jôrj bətī, -bätī), 1897–1962, French writer. Bataille was the founding editor of the journal Critique (1946). Strongly influenced by Nietzsche, he focuses on extreme states of consciousness (violence and eroticism) as forms of mediation between nature and culture. He presents his ideas in his critical essay Literature and Evil (1957, tr. 1973) and the novel Story of the Eye (1949, tr. 1987), among other works.
The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright© 2012, The Columbia University Press.