Wednesday 20 September, 2006

Poor Night Watchman - Alain Badiou

Last night I went to hear the French philosopher Alain Badiou speak at VCA. His book, Being and Event has just been translated into English - twenty years after its French publication. He was pretty extraordinary, though I did feel out of my depth, not being well-read in philosophy. And his accent took some getting use to. The talk was on 'Bodies, language and truth'. His opening question was 'What is the dominant ideology today?' and then he talked out from that to discuss the focus on individualism - 'there are just bodies and languages'.

Here are some notes I took which I lay out in case they are of use to you -and retyping them helps me hear again what he was saying. Obviously there was lots said between the statements I am stringing together.

'Truths are generic multiplicity's. Every truth is the trace of an event. When there is a rupture in the world, we name it an event [I thought here, of September 11 - first the rupture, then the commodification of what happened there]. Every event leaves a mark, a trace. Once a trace is left there is something new in the world [this was relating to a discussion of how radical change can be achieved. Or not]. The truth evaluates the consequences of an event, it is a construction around the trace of an event. [I took this to mean the way the 'truth' of something like September 11 is changed by the consequences of the event, around, in that example, the event's commodification rather than the facts of the event itself.] Truth is a new subjective form. A truth is generic and intimate, a radical exception, an elevation of an event into an idea. Truth is the elevation of ordinary existence to the level of an idea.

Languages let bodies realize their possibilities. Sexual freedom is clearly placed at the point of articulation between bodies and languages.

Freedom presupposes a new body, a truth body. Nothing to do with an ordinary body. There needs to be active participation in the consequences of the new body. (Exceptions are Love, Politics, Arts, Science). Is freedom a category of intellectual novelty?

We need to bring the word 'life' to the centre of philosophical inquisition. What is it to live? We need to consider the pressure exerted on the word 'body' by the word 'truth.' We need to understand and reformulate the word 'body'. The question of objectivity is the question of the new body. We need a new definition of the object. What is the object?

Philosophy is the contrast between the formulation of idea of appearance and the question of truth. What is an event? [I took this to mean we need to consider the gap between the construction of truth around the consequences of event, and Truth (with a capital T).] We need to consider the possibility of radical change. The trace of an event suddenly appearing in the world. Truth body - a logical set of corrective practices. Looking for change in the radical trace (?) of an event.

What is a true life? How can we live really? As immortals? When we are incorporated in a truth body we are immortal.

We philosophers are walking after something. We are walking in the night after a day of a real becoming. [Here he quoted Wallace Stevens. 'We must endure our souls all night']. Be careful with truth. A small t truth can become a big T by morning. We have to protect the fragile idea of the new truth. Philosophy is the friendship of truth with Truth. The protection of the fragile relationship between these truths. When the night falls we don't sleep; we must endure our souls all night. Philosophers are nothing more than a poor night watchman.'

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