Pierre Le Coz Examines Christianity's Departure in Two-Volume Work

Pascal Boulanger reviews Pierre Le Coz's two-volume work 'L'Europe et la profondeur' and 'Traité du même' (Éditions Loubatières, 2010). Le Coz argues that Christianity marks an end, not a return, breaking the circular sacrificial structure of religions. He traces the figure of Christ through arrival, predilection, and departure, emphasizing Christ's escape from being fixed to the Cross and his ongoing departure that opens a space for human freedom. The review highlights Le Coz's analysis of how painting (Carpaccio, Vermeer, Greco, Rembrandt, Cézanne) and literature (Hölderlin, Rimbaud, Shakespeare, Kafka, Faulkner) manifest this metaphysical perspective, where the retreat of the divine allows for profane space. In 'Traité du même', Le Coz turns to history and politics, engaging with Guy Debord, Jean-Claude Michéa, and Philip K. Dick to critique neoliberalism, secularism, and the spectacle's co-opting of art. A third volume is announced.