Ethics An Essay on the Understanding of Evil ——_——_@—_—— ALAIN BADIOU Translated and introduced by Peter Hallward VERSO London + New YorkThis book is supported by the French Ministry for Foreign Affairs as part of the Burgess Programme, headed for the French Embassy in London by the Institut Francais du Royaume Uni id institut trangais This edition first published by Verso 2001 © Verso 2001 Translation © Peter Hallward 2001 First published as L @thigue: Essai sur la conscience du Mat © Editions Hatier 1998 All rights reserved The moral rights of the author and translator have been asserted Verso UK: 6 Meard Street, London WIV SHR USA: 180 Varick Street, New York, NY 10014-4606 Verso is the imprint of New Left Books ISBN 1-85984-297-6 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging.in-Publication Data A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress ‘Typeset in 10/12%pt ITC New Baskerville by ‘SetSystems Lad, Saffron Walden, Essex Printed by Biddles Lid, Guildford and King’s LynnContents Translator’s Introduction Notes on the Translation Preface to the English Edition Introduction 1 Does Man Exist? 2 Does the Other Exist? 3 Ethics as a Figure of Nihilism 4 The Ethic of Truths 5 The Problem of Evil Conclusion Appendix: Politics and Philosophy: An Interview with Alain Badiou Bibliography Index vii 18 30 40 58 95 145 163