Denis Hollier
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| '''Denis Hollier''' is a French-born professor of [[French literature]] at [[NYU]] and author of ''[[Against Architecture]]''. | '''Denis Hollier''' is a French-born professor of [[French literature]] at [[NYU]] and author of ''[[Against Architecture]]''. | ||
| - | [[pineal gland]] | ||
| - | ==Mysticism, metaphysics and philosophy== | ||
| - | The secretory activity of the pineal gland is only partially understood. Historically, its location deep in the brain suggested to philosophers that it possessed particular importance. This combination led to its being regarded as a "mystery" gland with [[mysticism|mystical]], [[metaphysics|metaphysical]] and [[occult]] theories surrounding its perceived functions. | ||
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| - | [[René Descartes]], dedicating much time to the study of the pineal (Pine-cone shaped) gland, has called it the "principal seat of the [[Soul (spirit)|soul]]."<ref name="Descartes and the Pineal Gland">[http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/pineal-gland/ Descartes and the Pineal Gland] ([[Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy]])</ref> He believed that it was the point of connection between the intellect and the body.<ref>Descartes R. "The Passions of the Soul" excerpted from "Philosophy of the Mind," Chalmers, D. New York: Oxford University Press, Inc.; 2002. ISBN 978-0-19-514581-6</ref> Descartes attached significance to the gland because he believed it to be the only section of the brain which existed as a single part, rather than one half of a pair. He argued that because a person can never have "more than one thought at a time," external stimuli must be united within the brain before being considered by the soul, and he considered the pineal gland to be situated in "the most suitable possible place for this purpose," located centrally in the brain and surrounded by branches of the [[carotid artery|carotid arteries]].<ref name="Descartes and the Pineal Gland"/> | ||
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| - | [[Baruch de Spinoza]] criticized Descartes' viewpoint for neither following from self-evident premises nor being "clearly and distinctly perceived" (Descartes having previously asserted that he could not draw conclusions of this sort), and questioned what Descartes meant by talking of "the union of the mind and the body."<ref>http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Ethics_%28Spinoza%29/Part_5</ref> | ||
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| - | The notion of a "pineal-eye" is central to the philosophy of the French writer [[Georges Bataille]], which is analyzed at length by literary scholar Denis Hollier in his study ''Against Architecture''. In this work Hollier discusses how Bataille uses the concept of a "pineal-eye" as a reference to a blind-spot in Western rationality, and an organ of excess and delirium.<ref>Hollier, D, ''Against Architecture: The Writings of Georges Bataille'', trans. Betsy Wing, MIT, 1989.</ref> This conceptual device is explicit in his surrealist texts, ''The Jesuve'' and ''The Pineal Eye''.<ref>Bataille, G, ''Visions of Excess: Selected Writings, 1927–1939 (Theory and History of Literature, Vol 14)'', trans. Allan Stoekl et al., Manchester University Press, 1985</ref> | ||
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| - | Numerous spiritual philosophies contain the notion of an inner [[Third Eye]] that is related to the [[ajna]] [[chakra]] and also the pineal gland, and to which is attributed significance in mystical awakening or [[Enlightenment (spiritual)|enlightenment]], clairvoyant perception and higher states of consciousness. This idea occurs historically in ancient, central and east Asia; and also in contemporary metaphysical theories relating to [[yoga]], [[Theosophy]], [[Neopaganism|Pagan]] religions, and [[New Age]] spiritual philosophies. | ||
| ==Sources== | ==Sources== | ||
| - | * ''Le Collège de Sociologie, 1937-1939'' An edition by [[Denis Hollier]] of texts from [[Roger Caillois]], [[Michel Leiris]] and [[Georges Bataille]] discussed at the ''[[Collège de Sociologie]]'', with a well documented introduction. | + | * ''[[Le Collège de Sociologie, 1937-1939]]'' An edition by [[Denis Hollier]] of texts from [[Roger Caillois]], [[Michel Leiris]] and [[Georges Bataille]] discussed at the ''[[Collège de Sociologie]]'', with a well documented introduction. |
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Denis Hollier is a French-born professor of French literature at NYU and author of Against Architecture.
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Sources
- Le Collège de Sociologie, 1937-1939 An edition by Denis Hollier of texts from Roger Caillois, Michel Leiris and Georges Bataille discussed at the Collège de Sociologie, with a well documented introduction.
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