Table Of ContentEthics
An Essaony the
Understandionfg Evil
•
ALAINB ADIOU
Translaantde di ntrodubcye d
PeteHra llward
VERSO
London. New York
This booki ss upportbeydt hFer enMcihn istryf oFro reiAfgnf airsas pan
ofth e BurgessP rogrammeh,e adefodrt heF renchE mbassy inLo ndon
byth e InstitulF ranf;3i.d�u R o}'aumeU ni
IInSitil ut Ira��ts
Thieds ition fipurstb lishbeyVd e rso 2001
© Verso 2001
Translati©o nP eterH allward2 001
Firsptu blisas hLe'd ithiqueEs:s ais url aconsc Ience du Mal
© Editions Hatier1 998
Allri ghtsr eserved
The moralri ghtso fth e authaonrd t ranslatorbe ehanveas serted
Verso
UK: 6 MeardS U"eet,Lo ndonW I\,3 HR
USA: ISO VarlSetreke t, New YNYo rk,1 0014-4606
Verso isth eim print ofN ewLe ftBo ob
ISBN 1-85984-297-6
British library CaIaIoguing in Pub6catioa Data
A catalogu e recorfdo rth is book iasvai lablfer othme B ritishLi brary
Libnuy of Congress CaIaloging-in-Publicatioa Data
A catalog RCord for this boiosak vai lablefr om the UbraT}' of Congress
Typeset inI O/12�ptlTCN ewBas kervilleby
SetS}'StemsLtd , Saffron Walden, Essex
Printed by BiddiLtesd .G uildfordan d King's Lynn
Contents
TranslatoIrn'trso duction YlI
Noteosn theT ranslation xxxvi
Prefacteo th e EngliEshd ition liii
Introduction 1
1 DoesM an Exist? 4
2 Does theO ther Exist? 18
3 Ethicas sa Fi gure ofN ihilism 30
4 TheE thiocf T ruths 40
5 TheP robleomf E vil 58
Conclusion 90
Appendix: PoliatincsdP hilosophy:
95
An Interviewiwth Alain Badiou
Biblgrapiohy 145
Index 163
TranslatIonrt'rso ducIti on
Intendefdo ra generaauld ience,a ndfi rstp ublished ina
populars eries sotfu dent-frieenngdlageym ents.. .. m-jatjho r
philosophtiocpalci s (timea,rt ,r esponsibilinidtyi,vid ual
ity .)this, slenvdoelrum ep rovidesm uchth e mosta cces
sibilnet roductoti Boand iou'asd mittedcolymp lex and
unusuthalo ught.
Badiiosnuo longae corm pleet strangeram ong Anglo
American readers. Ethicsi sth e thirodf h isb ooks tobe
tran slated intEon gislh (allm thinth e pasty ear)an,d his
workh as already been introdusucmmearidz,ed and
reviewienad va rietyo fp lacsean d ways.2 Therei sno n eed
tod upliscautceshu mmari es ina nyd etahielr Beu.th is
workm ayr emaijnu st' strangee'n ough towa rrant a brief
overview ofi tsg eenral orientatio,aln ongm th someexp la
nationo fth e preciser olpel aedy by ethiicnh si sm der
conception ofth ingsT.h isc onceptiomna kefso rpr ofitable
and provocativceo mparisonm th thosoef h ibest ter-known
rivalsin thefi eld (U�vinas,De nida. .). I milen d this
Introdubyc tiaskionng a coupleo f the more presisng
questionsrai sed byBa diou'si nterventioinnth isth e most
controversfiiealoldf c o netmporary philosophy.
viii TRANSLATOR'ISN TRODUCTION
I Badiou's project
Badioius b,y a nyc ritriea,o ne oft hem osts ignificaanntd
originpahlil osophers working inF rancteo daayn,d p erhaps
the only serioursiva l of Deleuzaen d Derrida for that
meaningless butu navoidablteie tl o'fm ositm portantc on
temporFarrye npchhi losoHpihasett ern'tio,n rangeosve ra
uniquec ombinatiooffin e dlsa ndc ommitment,,t:h em ath
ematictahle orieosf s etsa ndc ategories,m odernitspoe try
and art,ra dicalp olitics,La canianp sychoanalcyosnitmse,
poraI)'t heatre,a nd the history opf hilosophfyr omP lato
andP armenidetso Lyotard andLar dreau.H e has written
moret hantw entybo oks,i ncludisenvge ral successpflaulys
and novelHse. edi..t. h te prestigiocousl lection 'L'Ordre
Philoosphiqeu' Least Editiondsu Seuil,a nd isa professor
atth e Ecole NormSaulpeeri eure inP aris anda tt heC ollege
Internationald eP hilosophie,w herhe isl ectucornseisetsntl y
drawh undredosfl isteners.
Broadlys peakingB,a dioup'hsi olsophsye ekst oe xpose
and make senseo f the potential forra dicali nnovation
(revolnu.t iinoventiotran,n sfigu rtiaon. .) eivne rsyt iu
atioSni.m plfiying thingsc onsiderawbel myi,g hsta y thahte
dividest hes phere ofh uman actiionnto two overlapping
buts harplyd ifferentiastueb-dsp heres: (a)th e 'ordinar'y
realom fes tablsihed intereansdts diffeernceso,fa pproved
know/edges thats eIvet onam e, recognizea ndp lacconeso li
dateidd entitieasn;d ( b)a n 'exceptiorenaalml 'o fs ingular
innovations ort rothsw,hi chpe rssit onlyth rough them ili
tantp roclamatioofnth oserar e individuawlsh o constitute
themselvesas tMsubje ctosfa t ruthas, the' militanotsft' h eir
cause.
TRANSLATOR'ISN TRODUCTION ix
The realm ofk nowledigsee sse ntialyl stati'ocbj,e ctive',
ands tructureda ccording to thei ntreests of thosweh o
dominataned governt hes ituatieovne;ry o rdinarys ituation
is' structureind dominance',as Althusserw ouldsa y.T he
sum total oft hesset ructurinngsa m-ings,c lassifications,
divisidoinsst,r ibu-tiomankse upw hatB adiocual ltsh es tate
oft he situati(oBna.d iouu'sseo fth e term 'state' incorpor
ateas c lassicalMlyarx istu nderstandoifthn eg politicals tate
as muchas ito verlawipths a simplei ntuituinvdee rstanding
ofth e 'statquuso '.I)n an ordinary situationt,h ed omina
tioonf i tss tateis e ffectively absolut-ei ndeed,s oa bsolute
as tobe beyondan y preceim seasuremenotr d etermination.
Itis precistehliiyns d eterminatitohant nseuresc onformity
oro bediencfer omth e (clasisfiedd,h ide.d .)me mbers of
thes ituation.
Accestso th e realm oft ruth,b y contras,t isa chieved
througha ropcedure thats ucceeds bothi nfi xithne gdo mi
nationo ft hes tate Overth e situatiaonnd i n evadintgh is
dominationT.h isp roc edure isw holly ubsjectiviet: is
founded onlyo n thesu bjects who 'beari'ts t rajectAo ry.
truthp roceeasd sa 'subtracftrioomnth 'e particularityo f
the known (frotmh ecl assifications oft hes tateA) t.r utish
innovatioenn acres,in gulari ni tsl ocatianodn occasibount,
universal ini ts' addesrs'a ndi mport. Inaccessbilet ot he
caslsificatioofn tsh es tateth,e truth comest op ass as a
universal-singuplararti,c ultaorb utu nlmiited byt hec on
tentso ft hes tiuatioinn wh ich itc omest oe xist.
Sucha truth-procedurec an begino nly withs ome sono f
breawikth the ordinary situatiionnw hichi ttak es plac-e
whatB adiocual Isan event. An evenhtas noo bjectiovre
veriafible contenItts.' happenciannngo'bte p roved, noly
affirmed andp roclaimeEdv.e nts,ubj ectan,d tnlth are thus
x TRANSLATOR'SI NTRODUCTION
alaslp ecotsfa s inpgrloec oefas ffisr matiaotru nth: comes
inotb eintg hrouthgohss eu bjwehcotsm aintaianr esienlti
fidelittyoth ec onsequoefan nce evset nhtat too kp laicane
situabtuiwast o nn oto ji tF.id elithtye, c ommiunetnoat
trutha,m ounttoss o methliinkaged isinteernetshtuesdi
asm,a bsorptiionn co ampe llitansgko rc ause,a s enosfe
elatoifbo eni,cn agu guhpit ns omeththiantgt ranscaelnld s
pe tty,p rivatoerm aetricalo nceSrunbsj.aer cebots t hc arried
by taru th- theyc omposteh 'efi nit'e pointso fa nal ways
'infintirutth-e a'n dp rO\'idiets l tiermaalt,e ri'aslu pport'
Evesryu bjise ocntlan y ' objeicntdiivvied'an u oaldr,i anry
mortalb,e com'ei mmorthtarlo'u ghhio srh eafrfi rmation
of( otranrs figuratiobny a) tru thth atc oheartes lae vel
entirbeelyyo tnhdmi osr talo bjectivity.
Truthf oBra dithouus ev okethse l ogoifcbei ng true to
soemthign,o fh oldintruge toa p rincpieprlseoo,rni ,d eal.
Hiesx ampilnecsl iundc eh,a ractedriivsetirrcesagiels ltye rs:
SaiPnatu mli'lsi ctaonncte pntio ofa nap ostiocsl ujebctivity
thaetxi sotsn lthyro ughp roclamoaftian oenv etn( the
resurroefChc ritsitoo)nfu niveirsamlpo rbtu otf n o' objec
tiveo'r e stablissihgneidfi catnhJcea ec;o boirBn o lshevik
fideltioatyR evolutieovneawnryht i ecxhc eeidnis ts, subjec
tivep owearn dg enescriocp eth,e p articualcatiro tnhsa t
contributtoei dts o ccurrteown lcoev;e cronsc'e opnti of
themsealsva emso rosuusb je'crtsoo,to endli'yn a fi delittyo
the ephemeeravle notfth eiern counatnea rr;ti st's or
scitiset'nfisd eltioatyc realtiivnoeefi qnuiorype nedu pb y
adi scoryv oer brwietahtrk a ditioInn.e accashe ,w haits
matericaolpmlosye bdy s uctruhth -proceidasu' rgeesn eric
setto'w hicohn lthye m osdti sintere(smostte du niversal,
mosatno nymous')suf tf'o fth es tiuatiobne longs.
Thee clercatincog feB adioiul'lsu stirabstia olnasnb cye d
TRANSLATOR'ISN TRODUCTION xi
theirirg oroudsi stributaimoonn gf our ando nlyfo ufire lds
oft ruth( eacohf w hichd efineosn eo ft hef ou'r conditions'
ofp hilosoorp'g ehneyri,c p rocedulorvees,art' ,) :isc ence,
andp oliticWhsy. thespea rticulfaro urB?e caustheey mark
outt hpeos sible instancoesf th e subjeacsv tar iouisnldyi vid
ual orc olecltive.Lo ve, deaafrfleyc,ts o nlyt hei dnividuals
concernePdo.l ibtiycco sn.tras t,c oncernosn ltyh ec ollective
dimensiotnh,ea ffinnation ofan absolguetneerilecyq uality.
And in 'mixseid tua-tisointsua'ti owintsh an idnividual
'vehbiucatlc eol'l tieevci mport- artand science qualifyas
generic tot hdeeg reeth atth eye ffeac ptu rei nventioonr
discveory beyond the mere transmissioofnr ecgonized
knowleS dges.
n Why 'ethics'?
The partp layed by 'ethics' inthi s configurationi sa n
essnetiallyr egul ativeo ne.U nderstooidnt ennso fa philos
ophoyftru th',et hiscahlo'du s limply dwehsachteril pbes to
preserveo r en-couager a subjective fideliatys s ucThh.e
ethicpalr escrinpc taibnoe s ummarized by the singilme per
ati'vKee:eg opin g!'o r 'ContinueF!'o ra truth iscl early
difficulbty defin ition. Iti mplieasn effectivseellflyes s
devotitooan c aues.B yg oing agastit nhceu rrebnyt,g o ing
againsthet' natumoralv'em enotf ti mei tselfi,ist vul nerable
tovari ousf orms ofe rosoin ate vemryo mento fi tse labora
tioTno.ke ep goingthe,n ,p resmuest eha bilittyo id entify
andr esistth e various formsof c orru ptino ore xhaustion
thatc an besae tfi deltiotrtyu th.
Thicosrru ption definewsh atB adicoaul'ls Evil['Ie Mal].
Evilc atank eon eo fth reem ain formse,a cohn aepe rversion
xii TRANSLATOR'ISN TRODUCTION
oft ruth:( a)b etraytahler, e nunciatioofan d ifficufildte lity;
(bd)e lusitohne, c onfiusono fa mere 'simulacroufam n'
even"'ti tha genuinee veanntd;( c )t erroorrt, h ee ffortto
impose theto tal andu nqualifiepdo weorf a truth.T hefi rst
perversioin sa farilsyt raightforward matteorf t emptatoin
andf atigue.Th e seconidn volcvoensfu sioonfth e necessar ily
unievrsala ddresosfe veryg enunie event( ensuredi,n a
somewhat technsiecaln sbey, ilotsc ationa tth e edge ofth e
'voiodf'th e situationi nw hichi tt akepsl ace",)4i tah pa r
ticuladri,ff erentiaatidndgr esso,n el ocatienthd e substantial
'
'plenitudeofa certain community,pe opleo r placteh:e
exampleth at Badioude veolps in some detaihle,r ei,s
Nazism. The thirdp erversione voketsh ec onventionally
tragicr ealm ofh ubriisn :rdo ert o' keepg oingth'e,s ubject
oftru th must resthiest etm ptation toi mposea na bsolute,
definitiovred eorf t ruth (oras, Badiouwi llsa y:t o' ofrcei'ts
'unnameabllimei't) .S ucha ni mposiwtiouolnd eff ectively
'objecthtiefy truth're,s ultiinnga factoaln fusioonfth e two
realmsd istingueisdha te verys tageo fB adioup'hsi losophy
(objective knowledgea nds ubjetcrutith)v.Be a diou's exam
pleisn cludpeos itivisSmt,a linisamn dt hel attsetarg es of
China's CulturaRlev oluitonI.n s hort':Si mulacrum( assoc i
atewid th the event),be trayal (assoc iatewdi tht hefi delity),
andth ef orcionfgt he unnameab(laseos ciatweidt thh e
powero fth e true): these are the figuers ofE .. i la, nEvil
whicbhe comaensa ctuapossli biliotyn lthya nks tot hes ole
Good we recgnoize- atru th-process.'5
An ethico ftru ths,th en,i sd esiegdnt o cultivaas teen:os fe
discernm(deon ntot confthuese t rue anthde falsceo)ura; ge
ande ndurance( don otbe tray thet ruem)od;e rationan d
restrai nt( resitsheti deoaf t otaolr' substantrutithal)'.
Thel ogirecla tiono fGo od and Evil isth uspe rfectlyc lear:
