Abstract
In this chapter I perform a critical reading of the French philosopher Alain Badiou’s hypertranslation of Plato’s Republic in order to outline Badiou’s approach to political education. Despite claiming that ‘the only education is an education by truths’, Badiou never explicitly discusses his notion of education. However, Badiou’s way of turning to Plato seems to reveal an ambition to reestablish the importance of the link between truth and political education. Badiou’s hypertranslation of the Republic cannot unilaterally be read as an actualization of Plato’s classic text. It should also be read as a renewal and strengthening of the truths that originated with Plato and still characterises the Western world’s master discourse on education. It is also a comment to this discourse’s blind spots. We – the readers – are thus invited to participate in the movable thinking that originated with Plato and which is here represented and reconceived by Badiou.
‘…the only education is an education by truths’ (Badiou 2005a, p. 14)
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Notes
- 1.
All quotes from Plato’s Republic are cited from Robin Waterfield’s translation (Oxford University Press, 1993).
- 2.
Émile Chambry’s bilingual Budé collection published in 1949.
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Strand, T. (2016). Alain Badiou on Political Education. In: Papastephanou, M. (eds) Cosmopolitanism: Educational, Philosophical and Historical Perspectives. Contemporary Philosophies and Theories in Education, vol 9. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-30430-4_12
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