Dilemmas of Truth in Alain Badiou’s Philosophy by Giosuè Ghisalberti presents a rigorous exploration of the complexities in the philosophical system of Alain Badiou, a thinker who has reoriented the trajectory of contemporary philosophy. Ghisalberti undertakes the ambitious task of examining how Badiou’s replacement of traditional critical theory and its hallmark of negation with an affirmative support for his four generic procedures—art, science, love, and politics—forms the cornerstone of his revitalization of both the subject and the concept of truth. Central to this work is an inquiry into the very coherence of Badiou’s philosophical edifice: are the four truths he proposes—each a pillar supporting the structure of his thought—implicated in an unavoidable and potentially paralyzing dilemma?
At the heart of Ghisalberti’s investigation is the contention that Badiou’s project for the 21st century, while visionary, is fraught with tensions that demand scrutiny. Badiou’s assertion that the four procedures are conditions of philosophy introduces an interdependent and systematic framework designed to redefine thought itself. Yet, Ghisalberti posits that the fidelity to Badiou’s system might encounter significant challenges when these four truths are subjected to the rigorous examination they warrant. The author unpacks whether these truths can be preserved in their entirety or if they necessitate a critical decision on the part of the individual reader—one that could potentially recalibrate Badiou’s entire philosophical project.
Ghisalberti looks into Badiou’s affirmative stance, contrasting it with the dominant mode of critical theory that has characterized much of 20th-century philosophy. In doing so, he positions Badiou as a thinker who consciously turns away from the pervasive negativity that has saturated philosophical discourse since the late 1960s. This rejection of negation, Ghisalberti suggests, is not merely a rejection of pessimism but a radical reconfiguration of philosophy’s purpose—transforming it into a discipline that seeks to affirm new possibilities of thought and existence rather than endlessly deconstructing the existing order. This shift, however, is not without its complications. Ghisalberti critically assesses whether Badiou’s affirmation of truth, and his insistence on the inseparability of the four generic procedures, might be undermined by the very dilemmas that arise from their intersection and application.
Badiou’s philosophical intervention is described as a response to what he diagnoses as the illnesses of contemporary thought: linguistic relativism and historical pessimism. These diagnoses, according to Ghisalberti, serve as a prelude to Badiou’s bold attempt to reconstruct the concept of truth, which had been systematically eroded by the critiques of earlier philosophical movements. Ghisalberti’s analysis reveals that Badiou’s cure for these maladies—his fourfold truth—presents a potent counter-narrative to the nihilism that Badiou identifies as pervasive in the current age. Yet, this counter-narrative, Ghisalberti argues, must be carefully interrogated. Are the four truths truly capable of escaping the conditions they seek to overcome, or do they, in their interconnections, generate new contradictions and impasses?
The book proceeds with an in-depth examination of each of Badiou’s four generic procedures, highlighting the philosophical rigor with which Badiou connects art, science, love, and politics to the broader project of truth. Ghisalberti traces how each procedure contributes to Badiou’s notion of the subject—a subject that emerges not merely as a passive receiver of truth but as an active participant in its construction. In doing so, Ghisalberti explores the transformative potential that Badiou attributes to these procedures, particularly in their capacity to resist the coercive forces that dominate contemporary liberal democracies. The analysis is rich with references to Badiou’s corpus, as well as to the broader philosophical traditions that inform his thought, from Plato to Lacan.
However, Ghisalberti does not shy away from confronting the possible limitations of Badiou’s framework. The dilemmas that arise from Badiou’s four truths are not merely theoretical but have practical implications for how individuals engage with the political, ethical, and existential challenges of our time. Ghisalberti probes whether the fidelity to Badiou’s truths might require compromises that Badiou himself does not fully address—compromises that could destabilize the coherence of his philosophical system. Moreover, Ghisalberti questions whether Badiou’s truths, when taken together, can genuinely offer a unified path to philosophical and political emancipation, or whether they might instead lead to new forms of dogmatism or exclusion.
In exploring these themes, Ghisalberti also draws connections between Badiou’s thought and broader cultural and philosophical movements, particularly those of post-humanism and post-structuralism. He situates Badiou within a larger dialogue about the role of philosophy in an age marked by increasing skepticism towards universal truths and by the proliferation of fragmented, relativistic perspectives. Ghisalberti’s book is not just an analysis of Badiou’s philosophy but a broader meditation on the possibilities and limitations of truth in a world where the very concept of truth is contested.
Dilemmas of Truth is a work that challenges readers to engage deeply with Badiou’s thought, not merely to accept it as a finished doctrine but to critically examine its foundations and implications. Ghisalberti presents Badiou’s philosophy as the subject of inquiry, urging readers to confront the problems inherent in any philosophical system that seeks to articulate a new vision of truth. By doing so, Ghisalberti invites scholars and students of philosophy to participate in an ongoing dialogue about the future of thought and the possibilities for human emancipation in an increasingly complex world. The book stands as a testament to the enduring relevance of philosophical inquiry and to the necessity of questioning even the most affirmatively constructed truths.
Simon Gros 
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