Synopsis

Being and Event is the centrepiece of Alain Badiou's oeuvre; it is the work that grounds his reputation as one of France's most original philosophers. Long-awaited in translation, Being and Event makes available to an English-speaking readership Badiou's groundbreaking work on set theory - the cornerstone of his whole philosophy. This book makes the scope and aim of Badiou's whole philosophical project clear, enabling full comprehension of Badiou's significance for contemporary philosophy. In Being and Event, Badiou anchors this project by recasting the European philosophical tradition from Plato onwards, via a series of analyses of such key figures as Descartes, Spinoza, Leibniz, Hegel, Rousseau, and Lacan. He thus develops the basis for a history of philosophy rivalling those of Heidegger and Deleuze in its depth.This wide-ranging book is organised in a precise and novel manner, reflecting the philosophical rigour of Badiou's thought. Unlike many contemporary Continental philosophers, Badiou - who is also a novelist and dramatist - writes lucidly and cogently, making his work accessible and engaging. This English language edition includes a new preface, written especially for this translation. Being and Event is essential reading for Badiou's considerable following and anyone interested in contemporary Continental philosophy.

Library Journal

Professor Badiou (Ecole Normale Superieure & College International de Philosophie, Paris) published this text in French nearly 20 years ago. Despite the time lapse, American readers-including those who keep abreast of Continental philosophy only in translation-will encounter concepts they have rarely come across elsewhere. Maintaining that "mathematics is ontology" and that "ontology is a situation," Badiou offers 37 meditations (in the Cartesian sense), which are themselves one of three types: conceptual, textual, or metaontological. His syntax, which the translator has consciously maintained, elaborates on the ideas it carries by its formal and complex structure. Badiou's references to and use of his predecessors and contemporaries-including Plato, Cantor, Spinoza, Heidegger, Lacan, and a dozen other ancients, moderns, and postmoderns-are compelling in the instant but require much more protracted discussion in order for his project to enter an accessible stream of current intellectual discourse. A variety of scholars, including philosophers, mathematicians, and intellectual historians, would do well to examine this volume and seek in it threads that warrant continued examination in an era of nanotechnology and political terrorism.-Francisca Goldsmith, Berkeley P.L., CA Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Biography

Alain Badiou teaches at the École Normale Supérieure and at the Collège International de Philosophie in Paris, France. In addition to several novels, plays and political essays, he has published a number of major philosophical works.

Oliver Feltham is Assistant Professor of Comparative Literature at the American University of Paris, France.