Badiou's Materialist Epistemology of Mathematics
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 4831487 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Ray Brassier (Middlesex University) |
| Year | 2005 |
| Volume | 10 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 135-150 |
| Publication date | 2005-08-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Angelaki (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0969-725X • E-ISSN: 1469-2899 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/09697250500417357 |
| OpenAlex | W2080833014 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 7 |
One establishes oneself within science from the start. One does not reconstitute it from scratch. One does not found it. Alain Badiou, Le Concept de modèle1 1 Le Concept de modèle. Introduction à une épistémologie matérialiste des mathématiques [The Concept of Model: Introduction to a Materialist Epistemology of Mathematics] (Paris: Maspero, 1969) 42. It is important to bear in mind that, in the context in which Badiou is writing here (i.e., the context defined by the work of Althusser, Bachelard, and Canguilhem), “epistemology” refers to the “theory of science,” and not the “theory of knowledge” as commonly understood in Anglo-American academic philosophy. According to the latter, epistemology is concerned principally with problems concerning the nature of rationality, belief, truth, scepticism, etc. – problems whose philosophical scope far exceeds that of “philosophy of science” proper. Thus the question about “how science represents the world” is subsumed by the larger issue concerning the precise nature of the epistemic relation between mind and world. But for Badiou, as well as for Althusser, Bachelard, and Canguilhem, such questions cannot be the concern of epistemology proper since they remain fatally enmeshed in the empiricist prejudices of representationalism, which can only obstruct proper philosophical understanding of scientific theory and practice. One suspects that further investigation into the deeper conceptual ramifications harboured by this seemingly trivial nominal difference would go a long way towards explaining the fundamental philosophical divergence between the concerns of post-Bachelardian “epistemology” in France and those of Anglo-American “philosophy of science.” [T]here are no crises within science, nor can there be, for science is the pure affirmation of difference. Alain Badiou, “Marque et manque” 2 2 “Marque et manque: A propos de zéro” [Mark and Lack: About Zero], Cahier pour l’analyse no. 10 (1969) 165. Badiou's article is actually dated “January 1967,” though it was not published until 1969
Context (archaeology · Eliminative materialism · Empiricism · Epistemology · Epistemology of Wikipedia · Materialism · Metaphysics · Philosophy of science · Physicalism · Relation (database · Skepticism · Social epistemology · Psychoanalysis, Philosophy, and Politics · Philosophy
| Unique citing works | 7 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,39 |
| Citation span | 2008 - 2023 (16) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 6 |