The One - (Seminars of Alain Badiou) by Alain Badiou

About the Book

Alain Badiou's 1983-1984 lecture series focuses on the philosophical concept of oneness in the works of Descartes, Plato, and Kant--a crucial foil for his signature metaphysical concept, the multiple.

Book Synopsis

Alain Badiou's 1983-1984 lecture series on "the One" is the earliest of his seminars that he has chosen to publish. It focuses on the philosophical concept of oneness in the works of Descartes, Plato, and Kant--a crucial foil for his signature metaphysical concept, the multiple. Badiou declares that there is no "One" there is no fundamental unit of being; being is inherently multiple.

What is novel in Badiou's view of multiplicity is his reliance on mathematics, and set theory in particular. A set is a collection of things--yet, as he observes, it often is taken to "count as one" operationally for the purposes of mathematical transformations. In this seminar, distinguishing between "the One" and "counting as one" emerges as essential to Badiou's ontological project. His analysis of reflections on oneness in Descartes, Plato, and Kant prefigures core arguments of his defining work, Being and Event.

Showcasing the seeds of Badiou's key ideas and later thought, The One features singular readings, breathtaking theorizations, and frequently astonishing offhand remarks.

Review Quotes

Students of Badiou will certainly want to acquaint themselves with it, but generally anyone interested in contemporary French philosophy, especially metaphysics, will find it considerably worthwhile.-- "Choice"

Will interest all readers of postwar French thought, not least because it contributes to the Anglo-American re-evaluation of that period as momentous in the history of philosophy and intellectual history. And as a thoroughgoing exploration of these three philosophers' work, it's a remarkable achievement.-- "H-France"

Badiou's lectures on Descartes, Plato, and Kant are fascinating as providing a glimpse into the gestation of his original thought in and through his engagement with these crucial predecessors. At the same time, his unusual readings can be lively, gripping, rich in stimulating asides and provocative allusions to other philosophers. In short, this seminar stands on its own and can be immensely appreciated quite independently of its role in Badiou's philosophical development, or even by one who is coming to Badiou for the first time.-- "Marx & Philosophy Review of Books"

Alain Badiou's seminars are essential to understanding the evolution of his thought. This much-awaited collection of Badiou's teachings enables the English-speaking world to experience the 'true heart' of his philosophy.--Sigi Jöttkandt, author of First Love: A Phenomenology of the One

Badiou's seminar is a space of conceptual experimentation and system creation, bringing together rigorous critique of contemporary ideology with innovative returns to major figures from the history of philosophy. This book, which also provides incisive introductory material, demonstrates the power of Badiou's method. His readings of Descartes, Plato, and Kant not only are genuinely inventive, they also attest to the creation of one of the most significant philosophical endeavors of our era, Badiou's own.--Frank Ruda, author of For Badiou: Idealism without Idealism

In this daring and challenging work, Badiou, one of the most fascinating and intellectually provocative thinkers of our time, provides a remarkable examination of the impasses of the metaphysics of the One in Descartes, Plato, and Kant. Badiou adapts their grappling with the equivalence of being and one to his own project of thinking the proper object of philosophy: the triad of events, truths, and subjects setting out from the idea that being is detached from the One. Knitting together mathematics and philosophy, Badiou makes a compelling demand for what he calls The Critique of Evental Reason.--Jelica Sumič Riha, Institute of Philosophy, ZRC SAZU, Slovenia

The publication of Alain Badiou's seminar The One is a major event for the philosopher of the event. When reading it, one has a sense of thinking alongside a great thinker as he formulates one of his central ideas--the distinction between the One and the count-as-one. Come to this seminar for Badiou's most in-depth analysis of how the One functions and leave with the incredible bonus of magisterial interpretations of Descartes, Plato, and Kant. This is Badiou at his very best and at his most accessible. The perfect introduction to his foundational work Being and Event.--Todd McGowan, author of Enjoyment Right & Left

About the Author

Alain Badiou is emeritus professor of philosophy at the École normale supérieure in Paris. His seminars published by Columbia University Press include Lacan (2018), Malebranche (2019), and Images of the Present Time (2023).

Jacques Lezra is professor and chair of Hispanic studies at the University of California, Riverside.

Susan Spitzer is a frequent translator of Badiou's works.

Kenneth Reinhard is research professor of comparative literature and English at the University of California, Los Angeles.