Second Manifesto for Philosophy - Softcover

Badiou, Alain

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0745648622 ISBN 13: 9780745648620

Publisher: Polity, 2011

Synopsis

"Philosophy" is everywhere. It is universally called upon, by everything from banks to major state commissions, to pronounce on ethics, law and duty. Badiou’s second manifesto therefore seeks to demoralize philosophy and to separate it from all those "philosophies" that are as servile as they are ubiquitous.

About this title

Review

With his characteristic taste for polemic, economy of expression and relentless cheerfulness, Badiou
offers a loud counterblast against contemporary scientism and sophism. Against what he sees as the
democratic materialism of the age, Badiou pits a materialist dialectic at the service of the Idea. The Second Manifesto is invigorating reading.
Simon Critchley, Chair of Philosophy, The New School for Social Research

Badiou’s Second Manifesto for Philosophy makes a lucid and compelling demand for philosophy to return from media distraction to its genuine calling. Opposing all moralizing acquiescence in an intolerable global status quo, Badiou reminds us that philosophical thought is, in essence, a quest
for universality. The thinker’s task is to make sense of truths whose upsurge and impact cuts across
space and time. In this sense, far from toying with relativism, the philosopher must be committed to
the disciplined work of soldering together separated worlds.
Peter Dews, University of Essex

From the Back Cover

Twenty years ago, Alain Badiou's first manifesto for philosophy rose up against the all-pervasive proclamation of the "end" of philosophy. In lieu of this problematic of the end, he put forward the watchword: "one more step".

The situation has considerably changed since then. Philosophy was threatened with obliteration at the time, whereas today it finds itself under threat for the diametrically opposed reason: "Philosophy" is everywhere. It serves as a trademark for various media pundits.

It is universally called upon, by everything from banks to major state commissions, to pronounce on ethics, law and duty. In essence, "philosophy" has now come to stand for nothing other than its most ancient enemy: conservative ethics.

Badiou's second manifesto therefore seeks to demoralize philosophy and to separate it from all those "philosophies" that are as servile as they are ubiquitous. It demonstrates the power of certain eternal truths to illuminate action and, as such, to transport philosophy far beyond the figure of "the human" and its "rights". There, well beyond all moralism, in the clear expanse of the idea, life becomes something radically other than survival.

About this edition

• Publisher: Polity
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 0745648622
• ISBN 13: 9780745648620
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 200