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Quick facts for kids Alain Badiou
Alain Badiou, 2012
Born	(1937-01-17) 17 January 1937 (age 88) Rabat, French Morocco
Education	École Normale Supérieure (B.A., M.A.)

Era	Contemporary philosophy
Region	Western philosophy
School	Continental philosophy Maoism Marxism Modern Platonism
Institutions	University of Reims University of Paris VIII École normale supérieure
Main interests	Set theory, category theory, topos theory, history of philosophy, philosophy of mathematics, metapolitics, metaphysics/ontology, psychoanalysis
Notable ideas	Event, ontology of the multiple, ontology is mathematics, the One is not, count-as-one, metapolitics

Alain Badiou (born January 17, 1937) is a French philosopher. He used to be the head of Philosophy at the École Normale Supérieure (ENS). He also helped start the Philosophy department at the Université de Paris VIII with other famous thinkers like Gilles Deleuze and Michel Foucault.

Badiou's ideas are greatly shaped by how he uses mathematics, especially set theory. His main project, "Being and Event," looks at important ideas like what it means to exist, what is true, and what makes a person a "subject." Unlike some other philosophers of his time, Badiou believes in universal truths that apply to everyone. He has also been involved in many political groups and often shares his thoughts on current events. Badiou suggests that the idea of communism should be re-examined as a way to organize society.

About Alain Badiou

Alain Badiou's father, Raymond Badiou, was a mathematician and worked with the French Resistance during World War II. Alain Badiou studied at the Lycée Louis-Le-Grand and then the École Normale Supérieure from 1955 to 1960. In 1960, he wrote his master's thesis on the philosopher Baruch Spinoza.

He taught at a high school in Reims starting in 1963. There, he became good friends with the writer and philosopher François Regnault. Badiou published two novels before moving to the University of Reims and then to the University of Paris VIII in 1969.

Early Political Activities

Badiou was active in politics from a young age. He was one of the first members of the Unified Socialist Party (PSU). This party worked hard to help countries like Algeria gain independence from France.

In 1967, he joined a study group led by Louis Althusser. He was also influenced by Jacques Lacan and joined the team that edited a philosophy magazine called Cahiers pour l'Analyse. By this time, he already knew a lot about mathematics and logic.

The student protests of May 1968 made Badiou even more committed to left-wing politics. He joined more active groups, like the Union of Communists of France Marxist-Leninist (UCFml). Badiou said that he and others started this group in late 1969.

During this time, Badiou began teaching at the new University of Paris VIII. This university was known for its new and different ideas. There, he had strong debates with other professors like Gilles Deleuze and Jean-François Lyotard. He thought their ideas were not helpful for a scientific approach to Marxism.

Later Works and Influence

In the 1980s, as some philosophical ideas became less popular, Badiou published more complex philosophical books. These included Théorie du sujet (1982) and his most important work, Being and Event (1988). Even so, Badiou has always respected the ideas of Althusser and Lacan. He often refers to Marxism and psychoanalysis in his newer writings.

He started his current job at the ENS in 1999. He is also part of other important groups, like the Collège International de Philosophie. He was a member of L'Organisation Politique, a group he helped start in 1985. This group stopped its activities in 2007. In 2002, he helped create the Centre International d'Etude de la Philosophie Française Contemporaine. Badiou has also written successful plays, such as Ahmed le Subtil.

Over the last ten years, more of Badiou's books have been translated into English. These include Ethics, Deleuze, and Being and Event. His shorter writings have also appeared in magazines in America and England. It is unusual for a modern European philosopher to have his work studied by activists in countries like India and South Africa.

From 2014 to 2015, Badiou was the Honorary President at The Global Center for Advanced Studies.

Badiou's Main Ideas

Badiou often uses several key ideas in his philosophy. He gets these ideas from carefully reading old philosophical texts. To truly understand his method, you need to know about the French academic philosophy tradition. Badiou's work involves deeply understanding texts, much like other philosophers he studied with.

One of his goals is to show that his ideas about truth can be used to understand many things. He uses them to explore art, history, and even scientific discoveries. Some thinkers believe Badiou's philosophy is a modern way of looking at Platonism, an ancient Greek philosophy.

How Truth Works

Badiou believes that philosophy is connected to four main areas: art, love, politics, and science. He calls these "truth procedures" because they each create their own kind of truth.

Badiou says that philosophy must not get too focused on just one of these areas. If it does, it can lead to a "philosophical disaster." Instead, philosophy should think about how these different "truth procedures" can exist together. It can do this by looking at where they overlap, like how art and love might connect in a novel. Or, philosophy can look at bigger ideas like "truth" or "the subject," which are important to all these areas.

When philosophy talks about these four areas in a truly philosophical way, it uses special terms. For example, it talks about "inaesthetics" instead of art, and "metapolitics" instead of politics.

What is Truth for Badiou?

For Badiou, "truth" is a special idea in philosophy. While art, love, politics, and science create truths, only philosophy can talk about them as "truth procedures." For example, a person in love doesn't think of their love as a question of truth, but simply as love. Only a philosopher sees the truth unfolding in that love.

Badiou has a very strict idea of truth. He believes truths are always the same, everywhere and forever. But he also thinks that truths are built through processes. He combines these ideas by saying that a truth's unchanging nature doesn't mean it's obvious. Also, the fact that a truth is built doesn't mean it's relative or different for everyone.

The idea is that a truth is so constant that it often goes unnoticed. It only becomes clear when something unexpected happens, a "rupture" in how things usually are. Badiou calls this a "event." If a person sees such an event and stays true to what they saw, they can then introduce this truth into the world. For Badiou, a person becomes a "subject" by committing to the truth of an event. Being a subject is not something you are born with.

As people stay true to the event, they create real knowledge. This knowledge is always growing and can change as new faithful subjects discover more. Badiou believes that truth processes go on forever. This means that staying true to an event is more important than just having knowledge. Badiou says that the common idea today, which he calls "democratic materialism," denies that truth exists. It only sees "bodies" and "languages." Badiou suggests we return to a "materialist dialectic," which understands that while there are only bodies and languages, there are also truths.

Inaesthetics: Art and Philosophy

In his book Handbook of Inaesthetics, Badiou uses the word "inaesthetic" to talk about art. He says artistic creation is not just a reflection of something else. Instead, he believes art is "immanent" and "singular."

"Immanent" means that the truth of art is found directly within the artwork itself. "Singular" means that art's truth is found only in art. Badiou connects philosophy and art through the idea of teaching. He says that teaching helps arrange knowledge so that a new truth can appear through it. He uses examples from the writings of Samuel Beckett, Stéphane Mallarmé, and Fernando Pessoa to explain these ideas.

Being and Event: Badiou's Major Work

Many of Badiou's main philosophical ideas come from his book Being and Event. In this book, he tries to connect the idea of a "subject" (a person who acts) with "ontology" (the study of what exists). He especially looks at modern ideas about how we understand existence.

Some critics say that modern philosophy, by focusing too much on language, makes it hard to talk about a "subject." Badiou wants to break free from this focus on language, which he sees as limiting. In Being and Event, he combines strict mathematical formulas with his readings of poets like Stéphane Mallarmé and religious thinkers like Blaise Pascal. His philosophy uses ideas from both "analytical" (logic-focused) and "continental" (broad-thinking) traditions. Badiou himself feels that this mix makes his work hard for others to understand quickly. For example, Being and Event was translated into English 17 years after it was first published in French.

The book's title, Being and Event, points to its two main ideas: "being" (what exists) and the "event" (a sudden break in what exists). Through this event, a subject becomes real and connects with truth. Badiou explains these ideas using set theory, a branch of mathematics. Simply put, an event is a truth that appears from a hidden "part" or set within existence. This part is outside of language and what we normally know, so existence itself doesn't have the words to fully explain the event.

Mathematics and What Exists

Badiou believes that ancient Greek philosophy struggled with a problem: while individual things are many, existence itself is often thought of as one. He suggests a solution: "the One is not." This means there isn't one big, overarching "thing" that everything belongs to.

This is why Badiou gives so much importance to set theory. He calls mathematics the true place of "ontology" (the study of being). Only set theory allows us to think about a "pure doctrine of the multiple" – meaning, how many different things can exist without being part of a single whole.

Set theory doesn't just deal with individual items in groups. It works by saying that what belongs to a set is also a set itself. So, what makes a set unique is not a positive statement about what it is, but rather other groups whose properties show its existence. The way things are structured makes us "count-as-one."

So, if you think of a set, like "humanity," it's counted as one idea. But the many individuals in that set are only seen as one concept (humanity) because of what is not in that set. Badiou says that the basic idea of "being" doesn't belong to an individual "one." Instead, it belongs to the "void set" (written as Ø), which is a set that contains nothing at all.

It might help to think of "count-as-one" as "naming." A group of many things is not "one," but we refer to it with one word, like "multiple." To count a set as one is simply to name that set. The idea of "terminology" shows that for a word to exist, there must be a system of words where differences give meaning. So, "count-as-one" is a way of organizing things, not a true event. Groups that are "composed" are effects of this "counting."

Badiou's use of set theory is not just for showing examples. He uses its rules to understand how being relates to history, nature, and society. A key rule in set theory is that a set cannot contain itself. Badiou draws two big conclusions from this. First, it means that "the one" doesn't truly exist. There can't be one big set that contains everything, so it's wrong to think of a grand universe or a single God. Badiou is therefore a strong atheist.

Second, this rule makes him introduce the "event." Because this rule connects all existence to the many different groups in history and society, it seems to erase the idea of new actions or completely new things happening. While this is fine for understanding what exists, Badiou says it's not enough for philosophy. He argues that mathematics leaves out something important that philosophy must address. So, Badiou concludes that "ontology" (the study of being) cannot say anything about the "event."

Criticisms of Badiou's Math Use

Some critics have questioned Badiou's use of mathematics. Scientists Alan Sokal and Jean Bricmont say that Badiou's mix of psychoanalysis, politics, and set theory seems absurd. Similarly, philosopher Roger Scruton has doubted Badiou's understanding of math. He wrote in 2012 that Badiou uses mathematical terms and symbols without fully explaining them or showing that he understands their meaning. He says Badiou uses math like a "magician's wand" to make his ideas sound more important.

For example, mathematicians Ricardo L. Nirenberg and David Nirenberg criticized Badiou's idea of the "Event" in Being and Event. They say that Badiou defines the event in a way that requires it to be defined by itself, which is not how sets are defined in mathematics. This kind of set is called a "not-well-founded set" and doesn't appear in mathematics because it leads to an endless loop of definitions.

The Event and the Subject

Badiou again uses mathematics and set theory to explore the possibility of something existing outside of what we can normally understand. He uses a method from mathematician Paul J. Cohen involving "conditions" of sets. These conditions define a set.

Badiou argues that every set we can name or build is "dominated" by conditions that don't have the property that makes the set clear. For example, the property "one" is always "dominated" by "not one." These sets are relative to our language and how we understand the world.

However, Badiou says that these "dominations" themselves are not necessarily tied to language. We can define a "domination" in mathematical terms as a set of conditions where any condition outside it is "dominated" by at least one condition inside it. This means we can think beyond the limits of language. Cohen calls this process "forcing."

Badiou concludes that while ontology can show a place for someone to decide on what is "indiscernible" (hard to tell apart), it is up to the "subject" to name this indiscernible, this "generic point." By doing so, the subject names the "undecidable event." This is how Badiou creates a philosophy that challenges the idea that everything is relative or that politics is not important.

Badiou's main ethical rule is: "decide upon the undecidable." This means naming the indiscernible, the generic set, and thus naming the event that changes how we see existence. He identifies four areas where a person can become a "subject" by witnessing an event: love, science, politics, and art. By staying true to the event in these areas, one performs a "generic procedure," which is experimental and can change the situation of being. Through this loyalty, truth can emerge.

In line with his idea of the event, Badiou believes that politics is not just about politicians. It's about activism based on the current situation and the unexpected "evental" (event-like) break. Love also has this quality of becoming "anew." Even in science, the guesswork that marks an event is important.

He strongly rejects the label "decisionist" (the idea that something becomes true just because it's decided). Instead, he argues that a truth is re-established before it can be proven. He gives the example of Galileo:

When Galileo announced the principle of inertia, he was still separated from the truth of the new physics by all the chance encounters that are named in subjects such as Descartes or Newton. How could he, with the names he fabricated and displaced (because they were at hand – 'movement', 'equal proportion', etc.), have supposed the veracity of his principle for the situation to-come that was the establishment of modern science; that is, the supplementation of his situation with the indiscernible and unfinishable part that one has to name 'rational physics'?

While Badiou wants to keep politics and philosophy separate, he connects his political activism and his doubts about traditional democracy with his philosophy. Both are based on unique, specific truths and the possibility of revolutions.

L'Organisation Politique

Alain Badiou was a founding member of a French political group called L'Organisation Politique. He started it with Natacha Michel and Sylvain Lazarus. This group was active from 1985 until 2007. It called itself a "post-party" organization, meaning it focused on direct action by people on many issues, including immigration, work, and housing. The group emphasized that undocumented migrants should be seen mainly as workers, not just immigrants.

Works by Alain Badiou

Philosophy Books

Le Concept de modèle (1969, 2007)
Théorie du sujet (1982)
Peut-on penser la politique? (1985)
L'Être et l'Événement (1988)
Manifeste pour la philosophie (1989)
Le Nombre et les Nombres (1990)
D'un désastre obscur (1991)
Conditions (1992)
L'Éthique (1993)
Deleuze (1997)
Saint Paul. La Fondation de l'universalisme (1997, 2002)
Abrégé de métapolitique (1998)
Court traité d'ontologie transitoire (1998)
Petit manuel d'inesthétique (1998)
Le Siècle (2005)
Logiques des mondes. L'être et l'événement, 2 (2006)
Petit panthéon portatif (2008)
Second manifeste pour la philosophie (2009)
L'Antiphilosophie de Wittgenstein (2009)
Éloge de l'Amour (2009)
Heidegger. Le nazisme, les femmes, la philosophie co-authored with Barbara Cassin (2010)
Il n'y a pas de rapport sexuel co-authored with Barbara Cassin (2010)
La Philosophie et l'Événement interviews with Fabien Tarby (ed.) (2010)
Cinq leçons sur le cas Wagner (2010)
Le Fini et l'Infini (2010)
La Relation énigmatique entre politique et philosophie (2011)
La République de Platon [fr] (2012)
L'Aventure de la philosophie française (2012)
Jacques Lacan, passé présent: Dialogue (2012)
De la fin. Conversations with Giovanbattista Tusa (2017)
L'Immanence des vérités (2018)
Sometimes, We Are Eternal with Kenneth Reinhard, Jana Ndiaye Berankova, Nick Nesbitt (Suture Press 2019)

Critical Essays

L'autonomie du processus esthétique (1966)
Rhapsodie pour le théâtre (1990)
Beckett, l'increvable désir (1995)
Cinéma (2010)

Literature and Drama

Almagestes (1964)
Portulans (1967)
L'Écharpe rouge (1979)
Ahmed le subtil (1994)
Ahmed philosophe, followed by Ahmed se fâche (1995)
Les Citrouilles, a comedy (1996)
Calme bloc ici-bas (1997)

Political Essays

Théorie de la contradiction (1975)
De l'idéologie with F. Balmès (1976)
Le Noyau rationnel de la dialectique hégelienne with L. Mossot and J. Bellassen (1977)
Circonstances 1: Kosovo, 11 septembre, Chirac/Le Pen (2003)
Circonstances 2: Irak, foulard, Allemagne/France (2004)
Circonstances 3: Portées du mot "juif" (2005)
Circonstances 4: De quoi Sarkozy est-il le nom ? (2007)
Circonstances 5: L'Hypothèse communiste (2009)
Circonstances 6: Le Réveil de l'Histoire (2011)
Circonstances 7: Sarkozy : pire que prévu, les autres : prévoir le pire (2012)
Mao. De la pratique et de la contradiction with Slavoj Žižek (2008)
Démocratie, dans quel état ? with Giorgio Agamben, Daniel Bensaïd, Wendy Brown, Jean-Luc Nancy, Jacques Rancière, Kristin Ross and Slavoj Žižek (2009)
L'Idée du communisme vol. 1 (London Conference, 2009) (Alain Badiou and Slavoj Žižek eds.), with Judith Balso, Bruno Bosteels, Susan Buck-Morss, Terry Eagleton, Peter Hallward, Michael Hardt, Minqi Li, Jean-Luc Nancy, Toni Negri, Jacques Rancière, Alessandro Russo, Roberto Toscano, Gianni Vattimo, Wang Hui and Slavoj Žižek (2010)
L'Explication, conversation avec Aude Lancelin with Alain Finkielkraut (2010)
L'Antisémitisme partout. Aujourd'hui en France with Eric Hazan (2011)
L'Idée du communisme, vol. 2 (Berlin Conference, 2010), (Alain Badiou and Slavoj Žižek eds.) with Glyn Daly, Saroj Giri, Gernot Kamecke, Janne Kurki, Artemy Magun, Kuba Majmurek, Kuba Mikurda, Toni Negri, Frank Ruda, Bülent Somay, Janek Sowa, G. M. Tamás, Henning Teschke, Jan Völker, Cécile Winter and Slavoj Žižek (2011)

Pamphlets and Serial Publications

Contribution au problème de la construction d'un parti marxiste-léniniste de type nouveau, with Jancovici, Menetrey, and Terray (Maspero 1970)
Jean Paul Sartre (Éditions Potemkine 1980)
Le Perroquet. Quinzomadaire d'opinion (1981–1990)
La Distance politique (1990–?)
Notre mal vient de plus loin (2016)

English Translations of Books

Manifesto for Philosophy, transl. by Norman Madarasz; (Albany: SUNY Press, 1999): ISBN: 978-0-7914-4220-3 (paperback); ISBN: 978-0-7914-4219-7 (hardcover)
Deleuze: The Clamor of Being, transl. by Louise Burchill; (Minnesota University Press, 1999): ISBN: 978-0-8166-3140-7 (paperback); ISBN: 978-0-8166-3139-1 (library binding)
Ethics: An Essay on the Understanding of Evil, transl. by Peter Hallward; (New York: Verso, 2000): ISBN: 978-1-85984-435-9 (paperback); ISBN: 978-1-85984-297-3
On Beckett, transl. and ed. by Alberto Toscano and Nina Power; (London: Clinamen Press, 2003): ISBN: 978-1-903083-30-7 (paperback); ISBN: 978-1-903083-26-0 (hardcover)
Infinite Thought: Truth and the Return to Philosophy, transl. and ed. by Oliver Feltham & Justin Clemens; (London: Continuum, 2003): ISBN: 978-0-8264-7929-7 (paperback); ISBN: 978-0-8264-6724-9 (hardcover)
Metapolitics, transl. by Jason Barker; (New York: Verso, 2005): ISBN: 978-1-84467-567-8 (paperback); ISBN: 978-1-84467-035-2 (hardcover)
Saint Paul: The Foundation of Universalism; transl. by Ray Brassier; (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2003): ISBN: 978-0-8047-4471-3 (paperback); ISBN: 978-0-8047-4470-6 (hardcover)
Handbook of Inaesthetics, transl. by Alberto Toscano; (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2004): ISBN: 978-0-8047-4409-6 (paperback); ISBN: 978-0-8047-4408-9 (hardcover)
Theoretical Writings, transl. by Ray Brassier; (New York: Continuum, 2004)
Briefings on Existence: A Short Treatise on Transitory Ontology, transl. by Norman Madarasz; (Albany: SUNY Press, 2005)
Being and Event, transl. by Oliver Feltham; (New York: Continuum, 2005)
Polemics, transl. by Steve Corcoran; (New York: Verso, 2007)
The Century, transl. by Alberto Toscano; (New York: Polity Press, 2007)
The Concept of Model: An Introduction to the Materialist Epistemology of Mathematics, transl. by Zachery Luke Fraser & Tzuchien Tho; (Melbourne: re.press, 2007). Open Access
Number and Numbers (New York: Polity Press, 2008): ISBN: 978-0-7456-3879-9 (paperback); ISBN: 978-0-7456-3878-2 (hardcover)
The Meaning of Sarkozy (New York: Verso, 2008): ISBN: 978-1-84467-309-4 (hardcover) ISBN: 978-1-84467-629-3 (paperback)
Conditions, transl. by Steve Corcoran; (New York: Continuum, 2009): ISBN: 978-0-8264-9827-4 (hardcover)
Logics of Worlds: Being and Event, Volume 2, transl. by Alberto Toscano; (New York: Continuum, 2009): ISBN: 978-0-8264-9470-2 (hardcover)
Pocket Pantheon: Figures of Postwar Philosophy, transl. by David Macey; (New York: Verso, 2009): ISBN: 978-1-84467-357-5 (hardcover)
Theory of the Subject, transl. by Bruno Bosteels; (New York: Continuum, 2009): ISBN: 978-0-8264-9673-7 (hardcover)
Philosophy in the Present, (with Slavoj Žižek); (New York: Polity Press, 2010): ISBN: 978-0-7456-4097-6 (paperback)
The Communist Hypothesis, transl. by David Macey and Steve Corcoran; (New York: Verso, 2010): ISBN: 978-1-84467-600-2 (hardcover)
Five Lessons on Wagner, transl. by Susan Spitzer with an 'Afterword' by Slavoj Žižek; (New York: Verso, 2010): ISBN: 978-1-84467-481-7 (paperback)
Second Manifesto for Philosophy, transl. by Louise Burchill (New York: Polity Press, 2011)
Wittgenstein's Antiphilosophy, transl. by Bruno Bosteels; (New York: Verso, 2011)
The Rational Kernel of the Hegelian Dialectic, transl. by Tzuchien Tho; (Melbourne: re.press, 2011)
The Rebirth of History: Times of Riots and Uprisings, transl. by Gregory Elliott; (New York: Verso, 2012): ISBN: 978-1-84467-879-2
In Praise of Love, (with Nicolas Truong); transl. by Peter Bush; (London: Serpent's Tail, 2012)
Philosophy for Militants, transl. by Bruno Bosteels; (New York: Verso, 2012)
The Adventure of French Philosophy, transl. by Bruno Bosteels; (New York: Verso, 2012)
Plato's Republic : A Dialogue in 16 Chapters, transl. by Susan Spitzer; (New York : Columbia University Press, 2013)
The Incident at Antioch/L'Incident d'Antioche: A Tragedy in Three Acts / Tragédie en trois actes, transl. by Susan Spitzer; (New York : Columbia University Press, 2013)
Badiou and the Philosophers : Interrogating 1960s French Philosophy, transl. and ed. by Tzuchien Tho and Giuseppe Bianco; (New York : Bloomsbury Academic, 2013)
Philosophy and the Event, (with Fabian Tarby); transl. by Louise Burchill; (Malden, MA: Polity, 2013)
Reflections on Anti-Semitism, (with Eric Hazan); transl. by David Fernbach; (London: Verso, 2013)
Rhapsody for the Theatre, transl. and ed. by Bruno Bosteels; (London: Verso, 2013)
Cinema, transl. by Susan Spitzer; (Malden, MA: Polity, 2013)
Mathematics of the Transcendental: Onto-logy and being-there, transl. by A.J. Bartlett and Alex Ling; (London: Bloomsbury, 2014)
Ahmed the Philosopher: Thirty-four Short Plays for Children and Everyone Else, transl. by Joseph Litvak; (New York : Columbia University Press, 2014)
Jacques Lacan, Past and Present: A Dialogue, (with Elisabeth Roudinesco); transl. by Jason E. Smith; (New York: Columbia University Press, 2014)
Controversies: Politics and Philosophy in our Time, (with Jean-Claude Milner); transl. by ?; (London: Polity, 2014)
Confrontation: A Conversation with Aude Lancelin, (with Alain Finkielkraut); transl. by Susan Spitzer; (London: Polity, 2014)
The Age of the Poets: And Other Writings on Twentieth-Century Poetry and Prose, transl. by Bruno Bosteels; (New York: Verso, 2014)
The end, (with Giovanbattista Tusa); transl. by Robin Mackay; (Cambridge: Polity, 2019) ISBN: 978-1509536276
The Immanence of Truths: Being and Event III, transl. by Susan Spitzer and Kenneth Reinhard; (London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2022) ISBN: 978-1350115309

DVDs and Lectures

Badiou, A Film in association with the Global Center for Advanced Studies (2018), Directed by Gorav Kalyan, Rohan Kalyan Gorav Kalyan.
Democracy and Disappointment: On the Politics of Resistance: Alain Badiou and Simon Critchley in Conversation, (Event Date: Thursday, 15 November 2007); Location: Slought Foundation, Conversations in Theory Series | Organized by Aaron Levy | Studio: Microcinema in collaboration with Slought Foundation | DVD Release Date: 26 August 2008
"Interview with Alain Badiou" BBC HARDtalk. March 2009.
Creative Thinking. Al-Quds University, Jerusalem, Palestine, 17 January 2009.
"Is the Word Communism forever Doomed?". Miguel Abreu Gallery, New York, 6 November 2008.
"Theatre et Philosophie." with Martin Puchner & Bruno Bosteels. La Maison Française, New York University, New York, 7 November 2008.
"Democracy and Disappointment: On the Politics of Resistance", with Simon Critchley. Slought Foundation, Philadelphia, the Departments of Romance Languages, History, and English, and the Program in Comparative Literature at the University of Pennsylvania. 15 November 2007.
"Homage to Jacques Derrida", University of California, Irvine, 1 March 2006 (RealPlayer).
"Ours is not a terrible situation." with Simon Critchley. Labyrinth Books, New York, 6 March 2006.
"Politics, Democracy and Philosophy: An Obscure Knot", Walter Chapin Simpson Center for the Humanities at University of Washington 23 February 2006.
"Panorama de la Filosofía Francesa Contemporánea" Biblioteca Nacional de Buenos Aires, 2004
"Finkielkraut-Badiou: Le-Face-à-Vace" The Nouvel Obs (Transcript in French)
"Faut-il réinventer l'amour?" – Ce Soir. French television. En direct, France 3 (French)