In Praise Of Love by Alain Badiou Summary

In Praise of Love explores love as a radical, risk-filled truth procedure that challenges modern safety-first attitudes. Through dialogues, Badiou critiques consumerist dating (e.g., online platforms like Meetic) and argues love is a transformative, enduring process born from difference, not sameness. He frames love as a political act that reorients perspectives from "One" to "Two," fostering shared truths.

This book suits philosophy enthusiasts, readers questioning modern relationships, and fans of Badiou’s Being and Event trilogy. It’s ideal for those interested in love’s ties to politics, art, or existential reinvention. Critics of transactional dating cultures will find his arguments particularly resonant.

Yes, for its incisive critique of risk-averse romance and its defense of love as a collaborative, world-changing force. Badiou’s blend of philosophy, politics, and cultural analysis offers fresh insights, making it a standout in contemporary thought.

Key concepts include:

• Love as an event: A rupture that initiates a shared truth.
• The "Two" perspective: Viewing the world through difference, not identity.
• Critique of "safety-first" love: Contrasting Meetic’s risk-free matchmaking with love’s inherent uncertainty.
• Endurance over ecstasy: Love as a lasting construction, not fleeting passion.

Badiou defines love as a truth procedure where two people create a new perspective on the world by embracing difference. It’s a "construction, a life being made... from the perspective of Two," demanding continuous effort to sustain its transformative potential.

He criticizes platforms like Meetic for promoting "zero-risk" love, comparing them to "smart bombs" in warfare. Such systems prioritize compatibility metrics over the unpredictable, transformative encounter essential to love’s truth.

The "event" is a sudden, unpredictable rupture (e.g., falling in love) that challenges existing norms. For love, it marks the beginning of a truth procedure—a journey to build a shared reality from difference.

Both love and politics involve creating new possibilities through collective action. Just as politics prescribes rupture with the status quo, love reorients individuals toward a collaborative "Two" perspective, challenging societal atomization.

He opposes consumerist permissiveness, "coaching in love," and the illusion of risk-free relationships. These trends, he argues, reduce love to transactional security, stifling its capacity to transform individuals and society.

• "Love is a construction... from the perspective of Two"
• "Love is a triumph of perseverance"
• "The Meetic approach is love as a 'zero dead' war"

Unlike Lacan’s focus on desire or Aristotle’s "one soul" ideal, Badiou sees love as a truth-generating process rooted in difference. He rejects love as mere passion or fusion, emphasizing its endurance and political resonance.