Badiou: A Subject To Truth

by Peter Hallward

Alain Badiou is one of the most inventive and compelling philosophers working in France todayOCoa thinker who, in these days of cynical resignation and academic specialization, is exceptional in every sense. Guided by disciplines ranging from mathematics to psychoanalysis, inspired as much by Plato and Cantor as by Mao and Mallarm(r), BadiouOCOs work renews, in the most varied and spectacular terms, a decidedly ancient understanding of philosophyOCophilosophy as a practice conditioned by truths, understood as militant processes of emancipation or transformation.
This book is the first comprehensive introduction to BadiouOCOs thought to appear in any language. Assuming no prior knowledge of his work, it provides a thorough and searching overview of all the main components of his philosophy, from its decisive political orientation through its startling equation of ontology with mathematics to its resolute engagement with its principal competition (from Wittgenstein, Heidegger, and Deleuze, among others). The book draws on all of BadiouOCOs published work and a wide sampling of his unpublished work in progress, along with six years of correspondence with the author.a
Peter Hallward pays careful attention to the aspect of BadiouOCOs work most liable to intimidate readers in continental philosophy and critical its crucial reliance on certain key developments in modern mathematics. Eschewing unnecessary technicalities, Hallward provides a highly readable discussion of each of the basic features of BadiouOCOs ontology, as well as his more recent account of appearance and OC being-there.OCO
Without evading the difficulties, Peter Hallward demonstrates in detail and in depth why BadiouOCOs ongoing philosophical project should be recognized as the most resourceful and inspiring of his generation.
"

Genres: Philosophy

512 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

Reviews

[Bryan]

Decent by Default: Before briefly stating my opinions on the book, let me mention that amazon reviews, capped at 1,000 words, do not provide an optimal forum for in-depth reviews. My review has been criticized as "non-sensical" by the other reviewer on this site who posted from New York. Within the next several days I will put up a website which contains a much longer review of this book. Not only will I show that my claims are not non-sensical, I will also attempt to get it into the other reviewer's tiny mind just how the book fails. The author himself, upset at the amazon review, sent me a letter, to which I will respond in depth on the aforementioned website. If you are interested in understanding Badiou (indirectly) or how Hallward's book lacks significant philosophical worth, look for this upcoming website. For now:

Though indisputably erudite, Hallward's book is not only confusing but confused. The first four chapters seek to situate Badiou in the context of classical philosophy and current French thought, and to clarify the role of mathematics in Badiou's philosophy. The attempt to contextualize Badiou fails horribly. We find out, in particular, that Badiou aligns himself with Plato, Descartes, Sartre, etc; we find out that he rejects the linguistic turn. We find out that he is the "exact contrary" of Heidegger, but it is never explained how or why this is so. In other words, all we get is a cataloguing of Badiou's positions (as if he were a politician) without the argumentation that Badiou uses to ally himself with these positions. The majority of what we get by way of argument-reproduction is the trite phraseology that Badiou cares for strong subjectivity, clarity, universalism, etc. Ok. But why? And how does he defeat the linguistic turn? Why is thought before being?

The explanations clarifying Badiou's equating of mathematics and ontology fail abysmally through internal contradictions. The author fails at points to keep "pure being" and "what can be said of being" distinct; at one page he will call mathematics "true thought", and at another time he will say that it is valueless--it is the event which is true thought. We do not get a clear sense what the precise connection between mathematics and reality is for Badiou: at one point Hallward says that, for Badiou, mathematics as articulating Being implies that it is "prior to" the distinction between the actual and the potential; while at other moments he attempts to understand Badiou as a partial realist and partial formalist (these terms, or at least realism, presuppose the strong divide between reality and mathematics which Badiou seeks to overcome). It is of course possible to make arguments which resolve these tensions in Hallward's text. But the book makes the reader work too hard to thread something coherent from the mess that is presented.

It is only through attentive reading that these gaps and contradictions come out. A cursory reading will leave one very satisfied. But if you want to understand Badiou deeply, this book reads roughly. Unfortunately, there are few other books on the market which cover the range of Badiou that Hallward does. So i'd have to say that it is decent by default.

[Cheng Wen Cheong · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very clear and cogent summary of Badiou's theoretical system, especially in Part 2. From Badiou's early admiration of Maoism to his underground political engagements, this book covers the ambitious nature of Badiou's philosophy. One point that I particularly appreciate is that the author suggests inadequacies in Badiou's formulations, e.g. Badiou is unwilling to grant relations their proper ontological status. He also tries his best to avoid the nested mathematical jargon that Badiou indulges in Being and Event, and gives equal emphasis on Badiou's non-mathematical explorations. Would read again.

[Mark Chan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book is written with exceptional clarity. It is still my constant point of reference when I seek certain clarifications of Badiou's thoughts. Peter Hallward is an erudite scholar (not just of French philosophy) with great writing skill.

[booker g · Rating 4 out of 5]

pretty good primer - instead of smashing your mouth against a brick wall trying to get anything out of badiou (and probably learning set theory along the way), this guy kinda chips away at the wall and feeds you little nuggets of concrete you can hopefully digest! wow!

[Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best book I have read about badiou.

[Leonard Houx · Rating 5 out of 5]

incredibly helpful and clear