L’excès de l’état par rapport à la situation dans L’être et l’événement de A. Badiou

Abstract

This paper concerns A. Badiou’s treaty, L’être et l’évenement, and the question of the relationship between “state” and “situation”. We first discuss the role that is given to mathematics in A. Badiou’s philosophy. We then read rather extensively L’être et l’événement, following our problem, the relationship between “state” and “situation”. In the last part, we compare A. Badiou’s position to the tradition of “epistemology” in France, using in particular Cavaillès’ writings. A. Badiou appears to dissociate himself from the historical perspective that made the core of this tradition of epistemology since Brunschvicg. But the problem is whether one can indeed separate mathematical theories from their history and their context, as A. Badiou, or “Badiouism”, is bound to do.

Keywords

• continuum
• history
• mathematics
• ontology
• politics
• Badiou Alain