Badiou: A Philosophy of the New

Front Cover
Polity, Mar 29, 2010 - Biography & Autobiography - 194 pages
Alain Badiou is one of the leading philosophers in the world today. His ground-breaking philosophy is based on a creative reading of set theory, offering a new understanding of what it means to be human by promoting an “intelligence of change”. Badiou’s philosophical system makes our capacity for revolution and novelty central to who we are, and develops an ethical position that aims to make us less anxious about this very capacity.

This book presents a comprehensive and engaging account of Badiou’s philosophy, including an in-depth discussion of The Theory of the Subject, Being and Event and Logics of Worlds. In a clear and careful analysis, Ed Pluth considers exactly how Badiou’s theoretical “anti-humanism” is linked up to what is, for all intents and purposes, a practical humanism. Central to this is an account of Badiou’s theory of the subject, and his attempt to develop an “ethic of truths”. The role of set theory, Marxism, and Lacanian psychoanalysis in Badiou’s philosophy is also given close attention.

This book will be of interest to students and scholars of philosophy, as well as to all those keen to develop a critical understanding of one of the most controversial and important thinkers of the twentieth century.

 

Contents

Introduction
1
Badious Philosophical Background
17
Being and Event
29
Situations and Events
48
Logics of Worlds
67
Infinity and Truth
85
Badious Theories of the Subject
104
Ethics and Affects
128
Politics
154
Conclusion
175
Select Bibliography
186
Index
188
Copyright

Other editions - View all

Common terms and phrases

About the author (2010)

Ed Pluth is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at California State University.

Bibliographic information