An accessible introduction to Badiou's key ideas

In this short and accessible book, the French philosopher Alain Badiou provides readers with a unique introduction to his system of thought, summed up in the trilogy of Being and Event, Logics of Worlds, and The Immanence of Truths. Taking the form of an interview and two talks and keeping in mind a broad audience without any prior knowledge of his work, the book touches upon the central concepts and major preoccupations of Badiou's philosophy: fundamental ontology, mathematics, politics, poetry, and love. Well-chosen examples illuminate his thinking in regards to being and universality, worlds and singularity, and the infinite and the absolute, among other topics.

A veritable tour de force of pedagogical clarity, this new student-friendly work is perhaps the single best general introduction to the work of this prolific and committed thinker. If, for Badiou, the task of philosophy consists in thinking through the truths of our time, the texts collected in this small volume could not be timelier.

About the Author
Alain Badiou is one of the most important living philosophers of our time as well as a novelist and playwright. Professor emeritus of Philosophy at the Ecole Normale Superieure in Paris, he is also the author of numerous political essays and regularly intervenes on topics of great international urgency.Bruno Bosteels teaches in the Department of Latin American and Iberian Cultures and in the Institute for Comparative Literature and Society at Columbia University. The author of numerous books, including Badiou and Politics and The Actuality of Communism, he is also the English translator of half a dozen of Badiou's texts.

Reviews
"Badiou by Badiou synthesizes Badiou's key ideas with a personal touch, inviting readers into his presentation of what philosophy is and his highly original way of philosophizing. Badiou is brilliant at making anyone want to engage with philosophical questions."-Emily Apter, author of Unexceptional Politics
"This book captures the latest developments in Alain Badiou's thought, while providing an excellent introduction for new readers. Badiou by Badiou, his most legible work, is a riveting tour of the domains of art, love, politics, and science."-Hector Hoyos, author of Things with a History
"Badiou proves himself again to be, like Socrates, a corrupter of the youth. With this clear entry point into his metaphysical project, Badiou demonstrates the dangerously transformative character of philosophy."-Jodi Dean, author of Comrade
"As the 21st century shapes up to be all about ends, Badiou challenges us to think ab novo. This latest installment of his firebrand philosophy will ignite youth even among those who think its time has passed."-Joan Copjec, author of Imagine There's No Woman



Book Information
ISBN 9781503631762
Author Alain Badiou
Format Paperback
Page Count 96
Imprint Stanford University Press
Publisher Stanford University Press