E-Book Overview
Between 1965 and 1968, the celebrated French philosopher Alain Badiou hosted a televised series in which he interviewed some of the most influential contemporary philosophers of the period, including Michel Foucault, Paul Ricoeur, Michel Henry and Michel Serres. This book presents the first English-language translation of those interviews.
Although Badiou had yet to publish the books that would go on to mark him out as the leading thinker of his generation (Being and Event and Logics of Worlds), his unique approach and highly original ideas are present in each discussion and the interviews present his philosophical origins in a lively and engaging context. More importantly these highly accessible and entertaining interviews provide a snapshot of French philosophy in the 1960s, setting the scene for the very public and political context of philosophy in the period immediately preceding the events of May '68, where philosophy played a crucial role. The book includes a new essay by Badiou in which he reflects on the project 30 years on.
E-Book Content
Badiou and the Philosophers
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Also available from Bloomsbury: Alain Badiou: Live Theory, Oliver Feltham Badiou’s ‘Being and Event’, Christopher Norris Being and Event, Alain Badiou Logics of Worlds, Alain Badiou
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Badiou and the Philosophers Interrogating 1960s French Philosophy
Edited and translated by Tzuchien Tho and Giuseppe Bianco
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Bloomsbury Academic An imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc 50 Bedford Square 175 Fifth Avenue London New York WC1B 3DP NY 10010 UK USA www.bloomsbury.com First published 2013 English Translation © Tzuchien Tho, 2013 Commentary © Tzuchien Tho and Giuseppe Bianco, 2013 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publishers. The authors have asserted their right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as Authors of this work. No responsibility for loss caused to any individual or organization acting on or refraining from action as a result of the material in this publication can be accepted by Bloomsbury Academic or the author. British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. ISBN: HB: 978–1–4411–8485–6 PB: 978–1–4411–9521–0 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data To come Typeset by Fakenham Prepress Solutions, Fakenham, Norfolk NR21 8NN Printed and bound in India
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Contents
Editors’ and translators’ introduction vii
1 Philosophy and its history (with Jean Hyppolite) 1 2 Philosophy and science (with Georges Canguilhem) 15 3 Philosophy and sociology (with Raymond Aron) 33 4 Philosophy and psychology (with Michel Foucault) 47 5 Philosophy and language (with Paul Ricœur) 61 6 Philosophy and truth (with Georges Canguilhem, Dina Dreyfus, Michel Foucault, Jean Hyppolite, and Paul Ricœur) 79 7 Philosophy and ethics (with Michel Henry) 99 8 Model and structure (with Michel Serres) 111
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vi Contents
9 Teaching philosophy through television (with excerpts from Jean Hyppolite, Georges Canguilhem, Raymond Aron, Michel Foucault, and Paul Ricœur. Alain Badiou by telephone and Dina Dreyfus in the studio) 139 Appendices: A Short biographies of participants 00 B The critical value of images (Alain Badiou, 1993) 159 Index 161
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