Conditions

This is the first complete English translation of the work that immediately followed Badiou's magnum opus, "Being and Event" in which Badiou provides an overview of what he sees as the four great conditions of philosophy - this book is therefore central to an understanding of Badiou's whole philosophical project.Alain Badiou is without doubt the most important and influential thinker working in European philosophy today. "Conditions" is the first major collection of essays written after "Being and Event", his extraordinary magnum opus.Beginning with a sustained critique of the so-called 'end of philosophy', the book goes on to propose a new definition of philosophy, one that is tested with respect to both its origin, in Plato, and its contemporary state. The essays that follow are ordered according to what Badiou sees as the four great conditions of philosophy: philosophy and poetry, philosophy and mathematics, philosophy and politics, and philosophy and love. Conditions provides an illuminating reworking of all the major theories in "Being and Event". In so doing, Badiou not only develops the complexity of the concepts central to "Being and Event" but also adds new ones to his already formidable arsenal. The essays contained within "Conditions" reveal the extraordinary and systematic nature of Badiou's philosophical enterprise.Review"Conditions is the essential complement to Being and Event: a fascinating introduction to both its problematics and also their masterly depth." — Quentin Meillassoux "Badiou is a prominent and sometimes controversial voice in Continental philosophy, and this collection of essays demonstrates his highly technical and original thought. Recommended for academic libraries." —Scott Duimstra, Library Journal, January 2009 "Conditions is Badiou's most important collection of essays, and publication of this comprehensive translation is long overdue. In addition to fundamental meditations on the status of general categories like philosophy and truth, the essays collected here include some of Badiou's most significant and incisive engagements with the specific "conditions" of his own philosophical orientation, in the fields of literature, mathematics, politics and love." — Peter Hallward, Centre for Research in Modern European Philosophy, Middlesex University, UK "Conditions ... remains Alain Badiou's magnum opus and the most exhaustive exposition of his philosophical system, Being and Event ... [His] stark and crystalline expression of the break philosophy must make with its own self-mourning is a clear and still relevant definition of what it means to think in the twenty-first century." - Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews “Conditions is the essential complement to Being and Event: a fascinating introduction to both its problematics and also their masterly depth.” – Quentin Meillassoux “Badiou is a prominent and sometimes controversial voice in Continental philosophy, and this collection of essays demonstrates his highly technical and original thought. Recommended for academic libraries.” –Scott Duimstra, Library Journal, January 2009 “Conditions is Badiou's most important collection of essays, and publication of this comprehensive translation is long overdue. In addition to fundamental meditations on the status of general categories like philosophy and truth, the essays collected here include some of Badiou's most significant and incisive engagements with the specific "conditions" of his own philosophical orientation, in the fields of literature, mathematics, politics and love.” – Peter Hallward, Centre for Research in Modern European Philosophy, Middlesex University, UK “Conditions ... remains Alain Badiou's magnum opus and the most exhaustive exposition of his philosophical system, Being and Event ... [His] stark and crystalline expression of the break philosophy must make with its own self-mourning is a clear and still relevant definition of what it means to think in the twenty-first century.” - Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews In a captivating sequence of chapters, written in a fluent style from which a rigorous philosophical meta-language is never absent and is often mingled with a poetic sense of words and expressions, Badiou's Conditions develops a systematic quest for the central issue of philosophy's place and purpose. (Sanford Lakoff) About the AuthorAlain Badiou teaches at the cole Normale Suprieure and at the Collge International de Philosophie in Paris, France. In addition to several novels, plays and political essays, he has published a number of major philosophical works.Steven Corcoran is a writer and translator living in Berlin. He has edited and/or translated several works by Jacques Rancire, including Dissensus (Continuum, 2010), and two works by Alain Badiou, Polemics (Verso, 2006) and Conditions (Continuum, 2008). "Alain Badiou is without doubt the most important and influential thinker working in European philosophy today. Conditions is the first major collection of essays written after Being and Event, his extraordinary magnum opus." "Badiou starts with philosophy itself and a clear critique of the theme of its so-called 'end'. He then goes on to propose a new definition of philosophy, one that is tested with respect to both its origin, in Plato, and its contemporary state. The essays that follow are all ordered around the four great conditions of philosophy: philosophy and poetry, philosophy and mathematics, philosophy and politics, and philosophy and love." "Conditions provides an illuminating reworking of many of the major concepts in Being and Event. In so doing, Badiou not only develops the complexity of the concepts central to Being and Event but also adds new ones to his already formidable arsenal." "The essays contained within Conditions show the immense scope and potential of Badiou's extraordinary system."--Back cover "Alain Badiou is without doubt the most important and influential thinker working in European philosophy today. Conditions is the first major collection of essays written after Being and Event, his extraordinary magnum opus." "Badiou starts with philosophy itself and a clear critique of the theme of its so-called 'end'. He then goes on to propose a new definition of philosophy, one that is tested with respect to both its origin, in Plato, and its contemporary state. The essays that follow are all ordered around the four great conditions of philosophy: philosophy and poetry, philosophy and mathematics, philosophy and politics, and philosophy and love." "Conditions provides an illuminating reworking of many of the major concepts in Being and Event. In so doing, Badiou not only develops the complexity of the concepts central to Being and Event but also adds new ones to his already formidable arsenal." "The essays contained within Conditions show the immense scope and potential of Badiou's extraordinary system."--Jacket La filosofia es prescrita por condiciones que son los tipos de procedimientos de verdad, o procedimientos genericos. Estos tipos son la ciencia (mas precisamente el matema), el arte (mas precisamente el poema), la politica (mas precisamente la politica en interioridad, o politica de emancipacion) y el amor (mas precisamente el procedimiento que hace verdad de la disyuncion de las posiciones sexuadas).La filosofia es el lugar del pensamiento donde se enuncia el “hay” de las verdades y su composibilidad. Para hacerlo monta una categoria operatoria, la Verdad, que abre en el pensamiento un vacio activo. Este vacio es senalado segun el reverso de una sucesion (estilo de exposicion argumentativo) y el mas alla de un limite (estilo de exposicion persuasivo o subjetivante). La filosofia, como discurso, organiza asi la superposicion de una ficcion de saber y de una ficcion de arte. "Beginning with a sustained critique of the so-called 'end of philosophy', Badiou goes on to propose a new definition of philosophy, one that is tested with respect to both its origin, in Plato, and its contemporary state. The essays that follow are ordered according to what Badiou sees as the four great conditions of philosophy: philosophy and poetry, philosophy and mathematics, philosophy and politics, and philosophy and love. Now available in paperback, Conditions provides an illuminating reworking of all the major theories in Being and Event. In so doing, Badiou not only develops the complexity of the concepts central to Being and Event but also adds new ones to his already formidable arsenal. The essays in Conditions reveal the extraordinary and systematic nature of Badiou's philosophical enterprise"--Abstract
Beginning with a sustained critique of the so-called ‘end of philosophy', Badiou goes on to propose a new definition of philosophy, one that is tested with respect to both its origin, in Plato, and its contemporary state. The essays that follow are ordered according to what Badiou sees as the four great conditions of philosophy: philosophy and poetry, philosophy and mathematics, philosophy and politics, and philosophy and love. Conditions provides an illuminating reworking of all the major theories in Being and Event. In so doing, Badiou not only develops the complexity of the concepts central to Being and Event but also adds new ones to his already formidable arsenal. The essays in Conditions reveal the extraordinary and systematic nature of Badiou's philosophical enterprise. Content: The Subtractive: Preface by Francois Wahl I. Philosophy Itself 1. The (re)turn of philosophy itself 2. Definition of philosophy 3. What is a philosophical institution? II. Philosophy and Poetry 4. The philosophical recourse to the poem 5. Mallarme's method: subtraction and isolation 6. Rimbaud's method: interruption III. Philosophy and Mathematics 7. Philosophy and mathematics 8. Conference on subtraction 9. Truth: forcing and unnameable IV. Philosophy and Politics 10. Philosophy and politics V. Philosophy and Love 11. What is love? VI. Philosophy and Psychoanalysis 12. Philosophy and psychoanalysis 13. Subject and infinite 14. Antiphilosophy: Lacan and Plato VII. Writing of the Generic 15. Writing of the generic: Samuel Beckett.