Holsinger argues ( Premodern Condition ) that Bataille, despite writing a somme atheologique was not so much attacking or parodying Thomism as critiquing Thomas with resources taken from inside the medieval Catholic tradition. As an illustration of his “intellectual open-mindedness vis-a-vis the tradition of Catholic theology,” Holsinger cites the exchange between Bataille and Jean Danielou, leader of nouvelle theologie and later cardinal, that took place in Vichy Paris in 1944. Danielous was among a group that included Sartre and Merleau-Ponty that gathered to discuss Bataille’s work on sacrifice, Christianity, and communication.
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