The rupture of the social contract in Sade's thought

Abstract

The works of Sade portray the corrupt and libertine practices at the time of Louis XV's despotic regime, invariably referring to the boudoir as a privileged place for the transformation of mind and body as well as for philosophical production. The actuality of Sade's thought lies in the fact that he reveals - as do modem trends - the narcissic constitution of subjectivity that, in its social-political aspect, leads to political conformism. This article aims at presenting Sade's thought as a radical critique of social relationships, which lead to the rupture of Rousseau's social contract. His relentless doctrine becomes negative philosophy in that it supplies the foundations for the critique of instrumental reason. A pessimist regarding the course of social totality, Sade's theory points to human 'animality' asa possible means of transcending the artificiality of social relationships.