Alain Badiou

Rene Descartes Chair and Professor of Philosophy at The European Graduate School / EGS.

Biography

Alain Badiou (b. 1937) is a French philosopher and professor of philosophy at The European Graduate School / EGS. He is one of the most significant philosophers of our time. While Badiou’s political position has drawn him the most attention within academia and beyond, it is his ontology that is the center of his system. Badiou’s “system” is built upon the purity of mathematics––specifically, set and category theory. The structure—of vast complexity—stands in relation to the history of contemporary French philosophy, German Idealism, and the primary works of antiquity. It is constituted out of a series of determinate negations of the history of philosophy, but also out of the histories of what Badiou terms conditions: art, politics, science, and love––the essence of his theory of compossibility. In brief, as Alain Badiou defines it in the Introduction to Being and Event (2005)philosophy is that which “circulates between … ontology (thus, mathematics), the modern theories of the subject and its own history” (p. 3). An outspoken critic of both the analytic as well as the postmodern schools of thoughts, his philosophy seeks to expose and make sense of the potential of radical innovation (revolution, invention, transfiguration) in every situation.

The primary philosophical system developed by Alain Badiou is constructed in Being and Event, Logics of Worlds: Being and Event II, and the forthcoming Immanence of Truths: Being and Event III. Surrounding these works––as is consistent with his definition of philosophy––are numerous supplementary and tangential works. While many significant books and seminars remain untranslated into English, those which are include: Deleuze: The Clamor of Being (1999), Metapolitics (2005), The Meaning of Sarkozy (2008), Saint Paul: The Foundation of Universalism (2003), Second Manifesto for Philosophy (2011), Ethics: An Essay of the Understanding of Evil (2001), Theoretical Writings (2004), Philosophy for Militants (2012), Theory of the Subject (2009), Plato’s Republic: A Dialogue in 16 Chapters (2012), Polemics (2006), Philosophy and the Event (2013), In Praise of Love (2012), Conditions (2008), Infinite Thought (2006), The Century (2007), Wittgenstein’s Antiphilosophy (2011), Five Lessons of Wagner (2010), and The Adventure of French Philosophy (2012), among others. In addition to his books, Badiou has published innumerable articles that can be found among edited collections in philosophy, politics, and psychoanalysis. He is also the author of several successful novels and plays.

Alain Badiou studied philosophy at the École normale supérieure, where he in 1999 would become chair of the philosophy department. From 1969 (and until 1999), he taught at the University of Paris VIII (Vincennes-Saint Denis) in the founding philosophy department with Gilles Deleuze, Michel Foucault, and Jean-François Lyotard. He has also taught, and continues to hold seminars, at the Collège international de Philosophie in Paris. Politically active since his youth, Badiou was a founding member of the Unified Socialist Party (PSU) and was active in supporting the decolonization of Algeria. Much of Badiou’s life and work has been shaped by his dedication to the consequences of the May 1968 revolts in Paris. As he writes in The Meaning of Sarkozy:

“The task facing us, after the negative experience of the socialist states, and the ambiguous lessons of the Cultural Revolution and May ’68––and this is why our research is so complicated, so erratic, so experimental––is to bring the communist hypothesis into existence in a different modality from that of the previous sequence. The communist hypothesis remains the right hypothesis, as I have said, and I do not see any other. If this hypothesis should have to be abandoned, then it is not worth doing anything in the order of collective action. Without the perspective of communism, without this Idea, nothing in the historical and political future is of such a kind as to interest the philosopher. Each individual can pursue their private business, and we won’t mention it again” (p. 15).

He is a leading member of Union des jeunesses communistes de France marxistes-léninistes, and was, with Sylvain Lazarus and Natacha Michel, a founding member of L’Organisation Politique, a formation focusing on direct intervention. In addition to the political influence of Mao Zedong, Badiou’s primary influences range from Plato to Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel to Jean-Paul Sartre, and the psychoanalytic theories of Jacques Lacan.

In such a brief overview, it is most fitting to render a sketch here of Badiou’s ontology. For Badiou, being qua being, according to mathematics, which “thinks ontology,” is pure multiplicity, multiplicity without One. Therefore, it is beyond the reach of comprehension or understanding, which is always based on a count-as-one with the exception of thought immanent to a truth-procedure, or set theory. This exception is key. Set theory is a theory of presentation, thus ontology is the presentation of presentation. Ontology, as set theory, is Badiou’s philosophical version of “knowledge in the real.” For Badiou, only set theory can write and think without One.

According to the opening Meditation of Being and Event, philosophy is buried within the false choice between being qua being, being One, or being multiple. Akin to Hegel in his Phenomenology of Spirit, Badiou in Being and Event sets out to resolve long standing impasses in philosophy opening up to a new horizon of thought. For Badiou, the true opposition is not between the One and the multiple, but between this pair and the third position they exclude: the One is not. In fact, this false pair constitutes itself as exhaustive of the horizon of possibility by the foreclose of the third. The details of this thesis are developed in the first six Meditations of Being and Event. The essential consequence is that there is no direct access to being as pure multiplicity, since everything from within a situation appears as one, and everything is a situation. The apparent paradox of this conclusion is Badiou’s simultaneous affirmation of Truth and truth(s).

Like his German predecessors, and Jacques Lacan, Badiou divides the nothing beyond presentation between nothing as non-being and nothing as not non-being, to which he gives the name “void,” as it designates a not non-being which is anterior even to the attribution of number. Truth at the ontological level is what Badiou––borrowing again from mathematics––calls a generic multiple. In brief, this is Badiou’s ontological foundation for the world of truths he later constructs.

Perhaps more than the assertion that ontology is possible, Badiou’s doctrine is distinct in the affirmation of Truth and truth(s). The first “Truth” is, strictly speaking, philosophical; the second “truth(s)” belongs to the conditions. The relation between these two is comprehensible through the delicate distinction between religion and atheism, or more specifically, through the distinction between residual and imitative atheisms and post-theological thought, that is, philosophy. For Badiou, philosophy is inherently empty, that is, it has no privileged access to some realm of Truth beyond the reach of artistic, scientific, political, and amorous thought and creation. Therefore, philosophy is conditioned; it is conditioned by the conditions as truth-procedures and ontology. The simplest way to articulate the apparent temporal paradox between philosophy and Truth and the truths of the conditions, is through Hegelian terminology: the thoughts of the conditions are particular, the constructed category of Truth is universal, and the truths of the conditions, i.e., the truth-procedures, are singular. In other words, philosophy takes the propositions of the conditions and tests them, so to speak, against ontology, and then constructs out of them the very category that will serve as their measure, Truth. The thoughts of the conditions, in so far as they pass through the category of Truth can be declared to be truths. Truth, therefore, is literally constructed out of what will have been truths––and ontology. With the relation of Truth and truths Badiou constructs a philosophical system adequate to Kant’s summation of the Enlightenment––thought will not obey any other authority than itself (which is not the same as saying that it will not obey).

The truths of the conditions, therefore, are procedures which, taking cause from a crack in the consistency of a presentation, itself secured by representation, are thoughts which traverse the semblance of neutrality and naturalness of an established situation from a position of assuming that––ontologically speaking––the One is not. Truths, in other words, are phenomena, or phenomenal procedures, which bear a fidelity to the foundations of ontology. Truth––the philosophical category––on the other hand, is the subtracted universal articulation of these singular thoughts, which Badiou names “generic procedures.”

To this process stretched between an encounter with the void, as cause, and the construction of a consistency not founded on the foreclosure of the real of being, Badiou gives the name subject. The subject itself involves a number of elements or moments, namely, intervention, fidelity, and forcing. More specifically, this process––given the nature of ontological truth––involves a sequence of subtractions that are always subtractions from any and all conceptions of the One. Truth, therefore, is the subtractive process of truths.

––Srdjan Cvjeticanin

Works

Books

Le Second Procès de Socrate, Badiou, Alain. Le Second Procès de Socrate. Actes Sud, 2015. ISBN: 2330049072

What is Philosophy? A Lecture by Alain Badiou, Badiou, Alain. What is Philosophy? A Lecture by Alain Badiou. Edited by Srdjan Cvjeticanin. Atropos Press, 2015. ISBN: 1940813867

À la recherche du réel perdu, Badiou, Alain. À la Recherche du Réel Perdu. Fayard, 2015. ISBN: 2213685975

Le Séminaire, Vol. 1: Parménide: L’Être 1 – Figure ontologique, Badiou, Alain. Le Séminaire, Vol. 1: Parménide: L’Être 1 – Figure ontologique. Fayard, 2014. ISBN: 2213678766

Controversies: Politics and Philosophy in our Time, Badiou, Alain, and Jean-Claude Milner. Controversies: Politics and Philosophy in our Time. Polity, 2014. ISBN: 0745682170

Jacques Lacan, Past and Present: A Dialogue, Badiou, Alain, and Elisabeth Roudinesco. Jacques Lacan, Past and Present: A Dialogue. Translated by Jason Smith. Columbia University Press, 2014. ISBN: 0231165110

Ahmed the Philosopher: Thirty-Four Short Plays for Children and Everyone Else,Badiou, Alain. Ahmed the Philosopher: Thirty-Four Short Plays for Children and Everyone Else. Translated by Joseph Litvak. Columbia University Press, 2014. ISBN: 0231166931

Mathematics of the Transcendental: Ontology and being-there, Badiou, Alain. Mathematics of the Transcendental: Ontology and being-there. Translated by A. J. Bartlett and Alex Ling. Bloomsbury, 2014. ISBN: 1441189246

Le Séminaire, Vol. 2: Malebranche: L’Être 2 – Figure théologique, Badiou, Alain. Le Séminaire, Vol. 2: Malebranche: L’Être 2 – Figure théologique. Fayard, 2013. ISBN: 2213672482

Le Séminaire, Vol. 1: Lacan: L’antiphilosophie 3, Badiou, Alain. Le Séminaire, Vol. 1: Lacan: L’antiphilosophie 3. Fayard, 2013. ISBN: 2213672474

The Incident at Antioch / L’Incident d’Antioche: A Tragedy in Three Acts / Tragedie en trois actes., Badiou, Alain. The Incident at Antioch / L’Incident d’Antioche: A Tragedy in Three Acts / Tragedie en trois actes. Translated by Susan Spitzer. Columbia University Press, 2013. ISBN: 0231157754

Éloge du Théâtre, Badiou, Alain, and Nicolus Truong. Éloge du théâtre. Flammarion, 2013. ISBN: 2081303183

Confrontation: A Conversation with Aude Lancelin, Badiou, Alain, and Alain Finkielraut. Confrontation: A Conversation with Aude Lancelin. Translated by Susan Spitzer. Polity Press, 2014.

Badiou and the Philosophers: Interrogating 1960s French Philosophy, Badiou, Alain. Badiou and the Philosophers: Interrogating 1960s French Philosophy. Translated and Edited by TzuchienTho and Guiseppe Bianco. Bloomsbury, 2013. ISBN: 1441195211

Rhapsody For The Theatre, Badiou, Alain. Rhapsody For The Theatre. Translated by Bruno Bosteels. Verso, 2013. ISBN: 1781681260

Cinema, Badiou, Alain. Cinema. Translated by Susan Spitzer. Polity Press, 2013. ISBN: 0745655688

L’Aventure de la Philosophie Française, Badiou, Alain. L’Aventure de la Philosophie Française. La fabrique éditions, 2012. ISBN: 2358720445

In Praise of Love, Badiou, Alain. In Praise of Love. Translated by Nicolas Truong and Peter Bush. Serpent’s Tail, 2012. ISBN: 1846687799

The Adventure of French Philosophy, Badiou, Alain. The Adventure of French Philosophy. Translated and Edited by Bruno Bosteels. Verso, 2012. ISBN: 1844677931

The Rebirth of History: Times of Riots and Uprisings, Badiou, Alain. The Rebirth of History: Times of Riots and Uprisings. Translated by Gregory Elliott. Verso, 2012. ISBN: 1844678792

La République de Platon, Badiou, Alain. La République de Platon. Fayard, 2012. ISBN: 2213638136

The Rational Kernel of the Hegelian Dialectic, Badiou, Alain. The Rational Kernel of the Hegelian Dialectic. Translated by TzuchienTho. re.press, 2011. ISBN: 0980819768

Wittgenstein’s Antiphilosophy, Badiou, Alain. Wittgenstein’s Antiphilosophy. Translated by Bruno Bosteels. Verso, 2011. ISBN: 1844676943

Eloge De L’Amour, Badiou, Alain. Eloge De L’Amour. Flammarion, 2011. ISBN: 2081248824

La Relation Enigmatique entre Politique et Philosophie, Badiou, Alain. La Relation Enigmatique entre Politique et Philosophie. Germina, 2011. ISBN: 2917285214

L’antisémitisme partout: Aujourd’hui en France, Badiou, Alain, and Eric Hazan. L’antisémitisme partout: Aujourd’hui en France. Mercier Durand, 2010. ISBN: 2358720186

Cinéma, Badiou, Alain. Cinéma. Nova éditions, 2010. ISBN: 2360150154

Le Fini et l’Infini, Badiou, Alain. Le Fini et l’Infini. Bayard, 2010. ISBN: 2227482060

Cinq Leçons sur le Cas Wagner, Badiou, Alain. Cinq Leçons sur le Cas Wagner. Nous, 2010. ISBN: 2913549438

L’explication, Badiou, Alain. L’explication. Nouvelles Editions Lignes, 2010. ISBN: 2355260524

The Meaning of Sarkozy, Badiou, Alain. The Meaning of Sarkozy. Translated by David Fernback. Verso, 2010. ISBN: 1844676293

Five Lessons on Wagner, Badiou, Alain. Five Lessons on Wagner. Translated by Susan Spitzer. Verso, 2010. ISBN: 1844674819

Il n’y a pas de Rapport Sexuel: Deux Leçons sur ‘L’Étourdit’ de Lacan, Badiou, Alain, and Barbara Cassin. Il n’y a pas de Rapport Sexuel: Deux Leçons sur ‘L’Étourdit’ de Lacan. Fayard, 2010. ISBN: 2213644438

Second Manifesto for Philosophy, Badiou, Alain. Second Manifesto for Philosophy. Translated by Louise Burchill. Polity Press, 2010. ISBN: 0745648622

Heidegger: Les femmes, le Nazisme, la Philosophie, Badiou, Alain, and Barbara Cassin. Heidegger: Les femmes, le Nazisme, la Philosophie. Fayard, 2010. ISBN: 2213644446

La Tetralogie D’Ahmed, Badiou, Alain. La Tetralogie D’Ahmed. Actes Sud, 2010. ISBN: 2330048653

Of An Obscure Disaster, Badiou, Alain. Of An Obscure Disaster. Jan Van Eyck, 2010. ISBN: 9072076702

La relation énigmatique entre politique et philosophie, Badiou, Alain. La relation énigmatique entre politique et philosophie. Mercier Durand, 2010. ISBN: 2917285214

Philosophy in the Present, Badiou, Alain, and Slavoj Zizek. Philosophy in the Present. Polity Press, 2009. ISBN: 0745640974

Theory of the Subject, Badioiu, Alain. Theory of the Subject. Translated by Bruno Bosteels. Continuum, 2009. ISBN: 0826496733

Eloge de L’Amour, Badiou, Alain, and Nicolas Truong. Eloge de L’Amour. Flammarion, 2009. ISBN: 2081233010

Second Manifeste pour la Philosophie, Badiou, Alain. Second Manifeste pour la Philosophie. Fayard, 2009. ISBN: 2213637962

Conditions, Badiou, Alain. Conditions. Translated by Steven Corcoran. Continuum, 2009. ISBN: 0826498272

Logics of Worlds – Being and Event, 2, Badiou, Alain. Logics of Worlds – Being and Event, 2. Translated by Alberto Toscano. Contiuum, 2009. ISBN: 0826494706

Pocket Pantheon: Figures of Postwar Philosophy, Badiou, Alain. Pocket Pantheon: Figures of Postwar Philosophy. Translated by David Macey. Verso, 2009. ISBN: 184467357X

Petit Panthéon Portatif, Badiou, Alain. Petit Panthéon Portatif. La Fabrique éditions, 2008. ISBN: 2913372716

The Meaning of Sarkozy, Badiou, Alain. The Meaning of Sarkozy. Translated by David Fernbach. Verso, 2008. ISBN: 184467309X

Number and Numbers, Baiou, Alain. Number and Numbers. Polity. 2008. ISBN: 0745638783

Peut-on penser la politique?, Badiou, Alain. Peut-on penser la politique? Seuil, 2008. ISBN: 2020979616

De quoi Sarkozy est-il le nom?, Badiou, Alain. De quoi Sarkozy est-il le nom? Nouvelles Lignes, 2007. ISBN: 2355260036

The Century, Badiou, Alain. The Century. Polity, 2007. ISBN: 0745636322

The Concept of Model: An Introduction to the Materialist Epistemology of Mathematics, Badiou, Alain. The Concept of Model: An Introduction to the Materialist Epistemology of Mathematics. Translated by Zachary Fraser and Tzuchien Tho. re.press, 2007. ISBN: 0980305233

Beckett: L’increvable desir, Badiou, Alain. Beckett: L’increvable desir. Pluriel, 2006. ISBN: 2818501954

Polemics, Badiou, Alain. Polemics. Translated by Steven Corcoran. Verso, 2006. ISBN: 1844670899

Being and Event, Badiou, Alain. Being and Event. Translated by Oliver Feltham. Continuum, 2006. ISBN: 0826458319

Briefings on Existence: A Short Treatise on Transitory Ontology, Badiou, Alain. Briefings on Existence: A Short Treatise on Transitory Ontology. Translated by Norman Madarasz. State University of New York Press, 2006. ISBN: 0791468038

L’Etre et l’événement: Tome 2, Logiques des mondes, Badiou, Alain. L’Etre et l’événement: Tome 2, Logiques des mondes. Seuil, 2006. ISBN: 2020843242

Le Siècle, Badiou, Alain. Le Siècle. Seuil, 2005. ISBN: 2020579308

Metapolitics, Badiou, Alain. Metapolitics. Translated by Jason Barker. Verso, 2005. ISBN: 184467035X

Handbook of Inaesthetics, Badiou, Alain. Handbook of Inaesthetics. Translated by Alberto Toscano. Stanford University Press, 2004. ISBN: 0804744084

L’Antiphilosophie de Wittgenstein, Badiou, Alain. L’Antiphilosophie de Wittgenstein. Nous, 2004. ISBN: 2913549055

Ethics: An Essay on the Understanding of Evil, Badiou, Alain. Ethics: An Essay on the Understanding of Evil. Translated by Peter Hallward. Verso, 2004. ISBN: 1859842976

Theoretical Writings, Badiou, Alain. Theoretical Writings. Translated and Edited by Ray Brassier and Alberto Toscano. Continuum, 2004. ISBN: 0826461468

Infinite Thought: Truth and the Return to Philosophy, Badiou, Alain. Infinite Thought: Truth and the Return to Philosophy. Translated by Oliver Feltham. Continuum, 2003. ISBN: 0826467245

On Beckett, Badiou, Alain. On Beckett. Translated by Alberto Toscano. Edited by Nina Power. Clinamen Press, 2003. ISBN: 1903083265

Saint Paul: The Foundation of Universalism, Badiou, Alain. Saint Paul: The Foundation of Universalism. Translated by Ray Brassier. Stanford University Press, 2003. ISBN: 080474470X

Kleines Handbuch zur Inästhetik, Badiou, Alain. Kleines Handbuch zur Inästhetik. Translated by Karin Karabaczek-Schreiner. Turia + Kant, 2001. ISBN: 3851322665

De l’Amour: Ecole de la Cause Freudienne, Badiou, Alain. De l’Amour: Ecole de la Cause Freudienne. Flammarion, 1999. ISBN : 2080814184

Deleuze: The Clamor of Being, Badiou, Alain. Deleuze: The Clamor of Being. Translated by Louise Burchill. University of Minnesota Press, 1999. ISBN: 0816631409

Manifesto for Philosophy, Badiou, Alain. Manifesto for Philosophy. Translated by Norman Madarasz. State University of New York Press, 1999. ISBN: 0791442195

Court Traité d’Ontologie Transitoire, Badiou, Alain. Court Traité d’Ontologie Transitoire. Seuil, 1998. ISBN:2020348853

Petit Manuel d’Inesthétique, Badiou, Alain. Petit Manuel d’Inesthétique. Seuil, 1998. ISBN: 2020348861

Abrégé de Métapolitique, Badiou, Alain. Abrégé de Métapolitique. Seuil, 1998. ISBN: 202034887X

Saint Paul: La Fondation de l’Universalisme, Badiou, Alain. Saint Paul: La Fondation de l’Universalisme. Presses Universitaires de France, 1997. ISBN: 2130488471

Deleuze: Coup double, Badiou, Alain. Deleuze: Coup double. Hachette, 1997. ISBN: 2012352227

Calme Bloc Ici-Bas, Badiou, Alain. Calme Bloc Ici-Bas. P.O.L., 1997. ISBN: 2867445477

Les Citrouilles, Badiou, Alain. Les Citrouilles. Actes du Sud, 1996. ISBN: 2742704140

Ahmed le Philosophe, Suivi de ‘Ahmed se fâche’, Badiou, Alain. Ahmed le Philosophe, Suivi de ‘Ahmed se fâche’. Actes du Sud, 1995. ISBN : 2742704523

Beckett: L’Increvable Désir, Badiou, Alain. Beckett: L’Increvable Désir. Hachette,1995. ISBN: 2012351689

Ahmed le Subtil, Badiou, Alain. Ahmed le Subtil. Actes du Sud, 1994. ISBN: 2869434049

L’Ethique, Badiou, Alain. L’Ethique. Hatier, 1994. ISBN: 2218069415

Conditions, Badiou, Alain. Conditions. Seuil, 1992. ISBN: 2020182599

Politique et Modernité, Badiou, Alain, and Georges Leyenberger. Politique et modernité. Editions Osiris, 1992. ISBN: 2905460245

D’un Désastre Obscur, Badiou, Alain. D’un Désastre Obscur. Editions de l’Aube, 1991. ISBN: 2876784378

Le Nombre et les Nombre, Badiou, Alain. Le Nombre et les Nombre. Seuil, 1990. ISBN: 202011612X

Rhapsodie pour le Théâtre, Badiou, Alain. Rhapsodie pour le Théâtre. Le Spectateur français, Imprimerie Nationale, 1990. ISBN: 2110810661

Manifeste pour la Philosophie, Badiou, Alain. Manifeste pour la Philosophie. Seuil, 1989. ISBN: 2020105594

L’Etre et l’Evénement, Badiou, Alain. L’Etre et l’Evénement. Seuil, 1988. ISBN: 2020098628

Peut-on Penser la Politique?, Badiou, Alain. Peut-on Penser la Politique? Seuil, 1985. ISBN: 2020089319

Théorie du Sujet, Badiou, Alain. Théorie du Sujet. Seuil, 1982. ISBN: 2020061155

L’Echarpe Rouge: Roman Opéra, Badiou, Alain. L’Echarpe Rouge: Roman Opéra. La Découverte, 1979. ISBN: 2707111139

Le Noyau Rationnel de la Dialectique Hégélienne, Badiou, Alain, L. Mossot, and J. Bellassen. Le Noyau rationnel de la Dialectique Hégélienne. La Découverte, 1978. ISBN: 2707110450

De l’Idéologie, Badiou, Alain, and F. Balmès. De l’Idéologie. Maspero, 1976. ISBN: 2707108332

Théorie de la Contradiction, Badiou, Alain. Théorie de la Contradiction. Maspero, 1975. ISBN: 2707107948

Le Concept de Modèle, Badiou, Alain. Le Concept de Modèle. Maspero, 1970. ISBN: 2213634815

Portulans, Badiou, Alain. Portulans. Seuil, 1967.

Almagestes, Badiou, Alain. Almagestes. Seuil, 1964. ISBN: 2020010119

Chapters

What is it to Live

Badiou, Alain. “What is it to Live?” Foreword to To Live and Think Like Pigs: The Incitement of Envy and Bordem in Market Democracies, by Gilles Châtelet. Translated by Robin Mackay, xi-xvii.Urbanomic/Sequence, 2014. ISBN: 0983216967

The Communist Idea and the Question of Terror

Badiou, Alain. “The Communist Idea and the Question of Terror.” In The Idea of Communism Vol. 2, edited by Slavoj Žižek, 1. Verso, 2014. ISBN: 1844679802

Anti-Semitism Everywhere in France Today

Badiou, Alain, and Eric Hazan. “Anti-Semitism Everywhere in France Today.” In Reflections On Anti-Semitism, 6. Verso, 2013. ISBN: 1781681155

Preface in After Finitude

Badiou, Alain. Preface to After Finitude, by Quentin Meillassoux. Translated by Ray Brassier. Bloomsbury, 2010.

The Idea of Communism

Badiou, Alain. “The Idea of Communism.” In The Idea of Communism, edited by Slavoj Žižek and Costas Douzinas, 1. Verso, 2010. ISBN: 184467455X

Articles

Ethics and Politics

Badiou, Alain. “Ethics and Politics.” Translated by C. J. Davies. Philosophy Today Vol. 59, No. 3 (2015): 401-407.

Pornographie de la démocratie

Badiou, Alain. “Pornographie de la démocratie.” Le nouvel Observateur, January 24, 2013.

The Pornography of Democracy

Badiou, Alain. “The Pornography of Democracy.” Translated by Huw Lemmey. Verso.com, January 28, 2013.

Pornogrfija sedanjega časa

Badiou, Alain, “Pornogrfija sedanjega časa.” Translated by Janina Kos. Problemi Vol. 52, Issue 5/6 (2014): 27-39.

24e Forum philo ‘Le Monde’ Le Mans. L’amour, une aventure obstinée

Badiou, Alain. “24e Forum philo ‘Le Monde’ Le Mans. L’amour, une aventure obstinée.” Le Monde Des Livres, November 11, 2012.

Sauvons le peuple grec de ses sauveurs!

Badiou, Alain, Jean-Christophe Bailly, Étienne Balibar, Claire Denis, Jean-Luc Nancy, Jacques Ranciere, Avital Ronell, “Sauvons le peuple grec de ses sauveurs!” Liberation,February 22, 2012.

Save the Greeks from their Saviors

Badiou, Alain, Jean-Christophe Bailly, Étienne Balibar, Claire Denis, Jean-Luc Nancy, Jacques Ranciere, and Avital Ronell. “Save the Greeks from their Saviors!” February 22, 2012. Translated by Drew S. Burk and Anastazia Golemi.

Retten wir das griechische Volk vor seinen Rettern

Badiou, Alain, Jean-Christophe Bailly, Étienne Balibar, Claire Denis, Jean-Luc Nancy, Jacques Ranciere, and Avital Ronell, “Retten wir das griechische Volk vor seinen Rettern!” February 21, 2012. Translated by Judith Dellheim.

Salvemos el pueblo griego de sus salvadores

Badiou, Alain, Jean-Christophe Bailly, Étienne Balibar, Claire Denis, Jean-Luc Nancy, Jacques Ranciere, and Avital Ronell. “Salvemos el pueblo griego de sus salvadores!” February 22, 2012. Translated by Mauricio Rugeles Schoonewolff.

Vamos salvar o povo grego dos seus salvadores

Badiou, Alain, Jean-Christophe Bailly, Étienne Balibar, Claire Denis, Jean-Luc Nancy, Jacques Ranciere, and Avital Ronell. “Vamos salvar o povo grego dos seus salvadores!” February 23, 2012. Translation by Alexandra Balona de Sá Oliveira and Sofia Borges.

Salviamo la Grecia dai suoi salvatori: Un appello agli intellettuali europe

Badiou, Alain, Jean-Christophe Bailly, Étienne Balibar, Claire Denis, Jean-Luc Nancy, Jacques Ranciere, and Avital Ronell. “Salviamo la Grecia dai suoi salvatori: Un appello agli intellettuali europe,” laRepubblica.it, February 22, 2012. Translated by Vicky Skoumbi, Dimitris Vergetis, and Michel Surya.

“Να Σώσουμε Τον Ελληνικό Λαό Aπό Tους Σωτήρες Του

Badiou, Alain, Jean-Christophe Bailly, Étienne Balibar, Claire Denis, Jean-Luc Nancy, Jacques Ranciere, and Avital Ronell. “Να Σώσουμε Τον Ελληνικό Λαό Aπό Tους Σωτήρες Του.” in tometopo, February 21, 2012.

Rädda det grekiska folket från sina räddare

Badiou, Alain, Jean-Christophe Bailly, Étienne Balibar, Claire Denis, Jean-Luc Nancy, Jacques Ranciere, and Avital Ronell. “Rädda det grekiska folket från sina räddare!” February 24, 2012. Translation into Swedish by Erik Bryngelsson and Elin Fritiofsson.

Verlos de Grieken van hun verlossers

Badiou, Alain, Jean-Christophe Bailly, Étienne Balibar, Claire Denis, Jean-Luc Nancy, Jacques Ranciere, and Avital Ronell. “Verlos de Grieken van hun verlossers!” February 23, 2012. Translated by Dennis Schep.

Zbawmy Greków od ich zbawców

Badiou, Alain, Jean-Christophe Bailly, Étienne Balibar, Claire Denis, Jean-Luc Nancy, Jacques Ranciere, and Avital Ronell. “Zbawmy Greków od ich zbawców!” February 23, 2012. Translated by Krzyś Rowiński.

Spasimo Grčki Narod Od Njegovih Spasitelja!

Badiou, Alain, Jean-Christophe Bailly, Étienne Balibar, Claire Denis, Jean-Luc Nancy, Jacques Ranciere, and Avital Ronell. “Spasimo Grčki Narod Od Njegovih Spasitelja!” February 22, 2012. Translated by Vesna Madzoski.

Rešite Grke pred njihovimi rešitelji!

Badiou, Alain, Jean-Christophe Bailly, Étienne Balibar, Claire Denis, Jean-Luc Nancy, Jacques Ranciere, and Avital Ronell. “Rešite Grke pred njihovimi rešitelji!” February 24, 2012. Translated by Jožica Grgič.

Yunan Halkını Kurtarıcılarından Kurtaralım!

Badiou, Alain, Jean-Christophe Bailly, Étienne Balibar, Claire Denis, Jean-Luc Nancy, Jacques Ranciere, and Avital Ronell. “Yunan Halkını Kurtarıcılarından Kurtaralım!” February 24, 2012. Translated by Ali Bolcakan, Nilüfer Akalın and Can Semercioğlu.

Shpëtojini grekët nga shpëtimtarët e tyre!

Badiou, Alain, Jean-Christophe Bailly, Étienne Balibar, Claire Denis, Jean-Luc Nancy, Jacques Ranciere, and Avital Ronell. “Shpëtojini grekët nga shpëtimtarët e tyre!” February 24, 2012. Translated by Arlind Qori.

Que signifie « changer le monde »

Badiou, Alain. “Que signifie « changer le monde » ?” Entremps (2010-2011).

¿Qué significa ‘cambiar el mundo’?

Badiou, Alain. “¿Qué significa ‘cambiar el mundo’?” Translated by Max Hernández Calvo. Tusk of the Translator (2010-2011).

Tunisia, Egypt. The Universal Reach of Popular Uprisings

Badiou, Alain. “Tunisia, Egypt. The Universal Reach of Popular Uprisings.” The Symptom (2011).

An open letter from Alain Badiou to Jean-Luc Nancy

Badiou, Alain. “An open letter from Alain Badiou to Jean-Luc Nancy.” Greek Left Review, April 4, 2011.

Una carta abierta de Alain Badiou a Jean-Luc Nancy

Badiou, Alain. “Una carta abierta de Alain Badiou a Jean-Luc Nancy.” Translated by Max Hernández Calvo. The Tusk of the Translator.

Un monde de bandits, dialogue philosophique

Badiou, Alain. “Un monde de bandits, dialogue philosophique.” Liberation, March 28, 2011.

Ce que les peuples arabes nous signifient

Badiou, Alain. “Ce que les peuples arabes nous signifient.” Liberation, March 28, 2011.

What the Arab People Signify to Us

Badiou, Alain. “What the Arab People Signify to Us.” Translated by Sarah Shin. Verso Books.com, March 31, 2011.

Women and Families

Badiou, Alain. “Women and Families.” Lacanian Ink 38 (2011).

The Philosophy of Government

Badiou, Alain. “The Philosophy of Government.” Lacanian Ink 36 (2011).

Disciplines of the Body: diet, medicine, and sports

Badiou , Alain. “Disciplines of the Body: diet, medicine, and sports.” Lacanian Ink 36 (2010).

Reducing the Sophist to Silence

Badiou, Alain, “Reducing the Sophist to Silence.” Translated by Susan Spitzer. Lacanian Ink 35 (2010).

For Today Plato: The Republic

Badiou, Alain. “For Today Plato: The Republic.” Translated by Susan Spitzer. Lacanian Ink 34 (2009).

Adorno’s Negative Dialectics and Wagner

Badiou, Alain. “Adorno’s Negative Dialectics and Wagner.” Translated by Jake Bellone, Barbara P. Fulks, and Peter Bradley. Lacanian Ink 33 (2009).

On a Finally Objectless Subject

Badiou, Alain. “On a Finally Objectless Subject.” The Symptom Vol. 10 (2009).

The Son’s Aleatory Identity in Today’s World

adiou, Alain, “The Son’s Aleatory Identity in Today’s World.” Translated by James Curley-Egan. Lacanian Ink 32 (2008).

A Political Variant on the Physics of the Subject-of-Truth from Logiques des mondes

Badiou, Alain. “A Political Variant on the Physics of the Subject-of-Truth from Logiques des mondes.” Lacanian Ink 31 (2008).

What is to Live? from Logiques des mondes

Badiou, Alain. “What is to Live? from Logiques des mondes.” Lacanian Ink 31 (2008).

Philosophy as Biography

Badiou, Alain. “Philosophy as Biography.” The Symptom 9 (2008).

Some Remarks Concerning Marcel Duchamp

Badiou, Alain. “Some Remarks Concerning Marcel Duchamp.” The Symptom 9 (2008).

The Dimensions of Art – on Udi Aloni’s film Forgiveness

Badiou, Alain. “The Dimensions of Art – on Udi Aloni’s film Forgiveness.” The Symptom 9 (2008).

The Communist Hypothesis

Badiou, Alain. “The Communist Hypothesis.” The New Left Review 49 (2008).

Cinema as Democratic Emblem

Badiou, Alain. “Cinema as Democratic Emblem.” Parrhesia 6 (2008).

We Need a Popular Discipline: Contemporary Politics and the Crisis of the Negative

Badiou, Alain. “We Need a Popular Discipline: Contemporary Politics and the Crisis of the Negative.” Critical Inquiry 645 (2008).

Hegel, Kant, Lacan from Logiques des mondes

Badiou, Alain. “Hegel, Kant, Lacan from Logiques des mondes.” Lacanian ink 30 (2007).

35 Propositions from Logiques des mondes

Badiou, Alain. “35 Propositions from Logiques des mondes.” Lacanian Ink 29 (2007).

Towards a New Concept of Existence

Badiou, Alain. “Towards a New Concept of Existence” Lacanian Ink 29 (2007).

The Event in Deleuze

Badiou, Alain. “The Event in Deleuze.” Parrhesia (2007).

A Musical Variant of the Metaphysics of the Subject

Badiou, Alain. “A Musical Variant of the Metaphysics of the Subject.” Parrhesia (2007).

Bodies, Languages Truths

Badiou, Alain. “Bodies, Languages Truths.” lacan.com (2007).

Philosophy as Creative Repetition

Badiou, Alain. “Philosophy as Creative Repetition.” The Symptom 8 (2007).

The Uses of the Word Jew

Badiou, Alain. “The Uses of the Word Jew.” lacan.com (2007).

The Question of Democracy

Badiou, Alain. “The Question of Democracy.” Lacanian Ink 28 (2006).

The Formulas of the Real

Badiou, Alain. “The Formulas of the Real.” Lacanian Ink 28 (2006).

What is a Philosophical Institution

Badiou, Alain. “What is a Philosophical Institution?” Cosmos & History: The Journal of Natural and Social Philsophy Vol. 2, No 1-2 (2006).

Drawing

Badiou, Alain. “Drawing.” Lacanian Ink 28 (2006).

The Formulas of L’étourdit

Badiou, Alain. “The Formulas of L’étourdit.” Lacanian Ink 27 (2006).

Lacan and the Pre-Socratics

Badiou, Alain. “Lacan and the Pre-Socratics.” lacan.com (2006).

The Desire for Philosophy and the Contemporary World

Badiou, Alain. “The Desire for Philosophy and the Contemporary World.” lacan.com(2006).

Eight Theses on the Universal

Badiou, Alain. “Eight Theses on the Universal.” lacan.com (2006).

Lacan. Seminar, Book X: Anxiety

Badiou, Alain. “Lacan. Seminar, Book X: Anxiety.” Lacanian Ink 26 (2005).

The Subject of Art

Badiou, Alain. “The Subject of Art.” The Symptom 6 (2006).

On the European Constitution

Badiou, Alain. “On the European Constitution.” ENS, May 18, 2005.

Democratic Materialism and the Materialistic Dialectic

Badiou, Alain. “Democratic Materialism and the Materialistic Dialectic.” Radical Philosophy 130 (2005).

The Adventure of French Philosophy

Badiou, Alain. “The Adventure of French Philosophy.” New Left Review 35 (2005).

Manifesto of Affirmationism

Badiou, Alain. “Manifesto of Affirmationism.” Lacanian Ink 24/25 (2005).

Fifteen Theses on Contemporary Art

Badiou, Alain. “Fifteen Theses on Contemporary Art.” Lacanian Ink 23 (2004).

Behind the Scarfed Law, There is Fear

Badiou, Alain. “Behind the Scarfed Law, There is Fear.” IslamOnline.net, March 3, 2004.

Of an Obscure Disaster: On the End of the Truth of State

Badiou, Alain. “Of an Obscure Disaster: On the End of the Truth of State.” Lacanian Ink 22 (2003).

The Scene of Two

Badiou, Alain. “The Scene of Two.” Lacanian Ink 22 (2003).

Fragments of a Public Diary on the American War Against Iraq

Badiou, Alain. “Fragments of a Public Diary on the American War Against Iraq.” Contemporary French and Francophone Studies 8 (2003).

Seven Variations on the Century

Badiou, Alain. “Seven Variations on the Century.” Parallax 9 (2003).

What is to Be Thought?

Badiou, Alain. “What is to Be Thought?” Counterpunch, May 1, 2002.

Un, Multiple, Multiplicité(s)

Badiou, Alain. “Un, Multiple, Multiplicité(s).” Multitudes 1 (2002).

Philosophical Considerations of Some Recent Facts

Badiou, Alain. “Philosophical Considerations of Some Recent Facts.” Theory and Event 6 (2002).

Art & Philosophy

Badiou, Alain. “Art & Philosophy.” Lacanian Ink 17 (2000).

Psychoanalysis and Philosophy

Badiou, Alain. “Psychoanalysis and Philosophy.” Analysis 9 (2000).

On a Contemporary Usage of Frege

Badiou, Alain. “On a Contemporary Usage of Frege.” Umbr(a) (2000).

Highly Speculative Reasoning on the Concept of Democracy

Badiou, Alain. “Highly Speculative Reasoning on the Concept of Democracy.” Lacanian Ink 16 (2000).

Philosophy and Politics

Badiou, Alain. “Philosophy and Politics.” Radical Philosophy 96 (1999).

Is There a Theory of the Subject in Georges Canguilhem?

Badiou, Alain. “Is There a Theory of the Subject in Georges Canguilhem?” Economy and Society 27 (1998).

Interviews

The Crisis of Negation: An Interview with Alain Badiou/La crisis de la Negación: Una entrevista con Alain Badiou

Badiou, Alain, and John Van Houdt. “The Crisis of Negation: An Interview with Alain Badiou/La crisis de la Negación: Una entrevista con Alain Badiou.” continent Vol. 1, No. 4 (2011): 234-238.

Interview with Alain Badiou

Badiou, Alain. “Interview with Alain Badiou.” Ashville Global Report, November 14, 2005.

A Conversation with Alain Badiou

Badiou, Alain. “A Conversation with Alain Badiou.” Lacanian Ink 23 (2004).

On Evil: An Interview with Alain Badiou

Badiou, Alain, Christopher Cox, and Molly Whalen. “On Evil: An Interview with Alain Badiou.” Cabinet Magazine Online Issue 5, Winter (2001/02).

Being by Numbers: interview with Lauren Sedofsky

Badiou, Alain. “Being by Numbers: interview with Lauren Sedofsky.” Artforum,October 1996.

Edited Works

L’Idée du Communisme Vol. 1 (London Conference, 2009)

Badiou, Alain, and Slavoj Žižek, eds. L’Idée du Communisme Vol. 1 (London Conference, 2009). Editions Lignes, 2010.

Lectures

Alain Badiou, Judith Balso

Contemporary art: considered philosophically and poetologically

03.09.2014
Alain Badiou

From Logic to Anthropology, or Affirmative Dialectics

03.09.2012
Alain Badiou

Introduction To The Philosophical Concept of Change

03.09.2012
Alain Badiou

The Philosophical Question of Change Within Greek Antiquity

03.09.2012
Alain Badiou

The Philosophical Concept of Change Within Politics

03.09.2012
Alain Badiou

The Ontology of Change

03.09.2012
Alain Badiou

The Concept of Change: Mathematics and Vitalism

03.09.2012
Alain Badiou

The Concept of Change: Aesthetics and Politics

03.09.2012
Alain Badiou

Being and Change In A World

03.09.2012
Alain Badiou

The Post-Evental Subject Via The Existence of Truths

03.09.2012
Alain Badiou

Different Philosophical Orientations Toward The Infinite

03.09.2011
Alain Badiou

Toward A Positive Definition of The Infinite

03.09.2011
Alain Badiou

A History of Finitude and Infinity: Romanticism and Modernity

03.09.2011
Alain Badiou

A History of Finitude and Infinity: Classicism

03.09.2011
Alain Badiou

Infinity and Set Theory: How To Begin With The Void

03.09.2011
Alain Badiou

Infinity and Set Theory: Repetition and Succession

03.09.2011
Alain Badiou

The Ontology of Multiplicity: Omega As Event

03.09.2011
Alain Badiou

Questions Concerning The Infinite

03.09.2011
Alain Badiou

The Ontology of Multiplicity: The Singleton of The Void

03.09.2011
Alain Badiou

Philosophy’s Conditions of Existence

03.09.2010
Alain Badiou

Truth Exists

03.09.2010
Alain Badiou

Beyond Positivism and Nihilism

03.09.2010
Alain Badiou

Mysticism and Philosophy

03.09.2010
Alain Badiou

The Process of Philosophy

03.09.2010
Alain Badiou

Philosophy and Time

03.09.2010
Alain Badiou

Eternity in Time

03.09.2010
Alain Badiou

Philosophy: What Is to Be Done?

03.09.2010
Alain Badiou

What is Philosophy? (Part II)

03.09.2010
Alain Badiou

What is Philosophy? (Part I)

03.09.2010
Alain Badiou

Questions and Answers (part II)

03.09.2010
Alain Badiou

Questions and Answers (Part I)

03.09.2010
Alain Badiou

The Event as Creative Novelty 6/13

23.09.2009
Alain Badiou

The Event as Creative Novelty 13/13

23.09.2009
Alain Badiou

The Event as Creative Novelty 12/13

23.09.2009
Alain Badiou

The Event as Creative Novelty 11/13

23.09.2009
Alain Badiou

The Event as Creative Novelty 10/13

23.09.2009
Alain Badiou

The Event as Creative Novelty 9/13

23.09.2009
Alain Badiou

The Event as Creative Novelty 8/13

23.09.2009
Alain Badiou

The Event as Creative Novelty 7/13

23.09.2009
Alain Badiou

The Event as Creative Novelty 5/13

23.09.2009
Alain Badiou

The Event as Creative Novelty 4/13

23.09.2009
Alain Badiou

The Event as Creative Novelty 3/13

23.09.2009
Alain Badiou

The Event as Creative Novelty 2/13

23.09.2009
Alain Badiou

The Event as Creative Novelty 1/13

23.09.2009
Alain Badiou

Theater, Poetry and Philosophy 6/6

03.09.2003