In Praise of Mathematics

Why bother to praise mathematics when you claim, as Alain Badiou does, that philosophy is first and foremost a metaphysics of happiness, or else it's not worth an hour of trouble? What possible relationship can there be between mathematics and happiness?

That is precisely the issue at stake in this dialogue, which serves as a very accessible introduction to what mathematics is and an exploration of the crucial influence it has always exerted on the greatest philosophers. Far from the thankless, pointless exercises they are often thought to be, mathematics and logic are indispensable guides to ridding ourselves of dominant opinions and making possible an access to truths, or to a human experience of the utmost value. That is why mathematics may well be the shortest path to the true life, which, when it exists, is characterized by an incomparable happiness.

De ce sa va deranjati sa laudati matematica atunci cand sustineti, asa cum face Alain Badiou, ca filozofia este in primul rand o metafizica a fericirii, sau altfel nu merita o ora de necazuri? Ce relatie posibila poate exista intre matematica si fericire? Aceasta este tocmai problema in joc a acestui dialog, care serveste drept o introducere foarte accesibila a ceea ce este matematica si o explorare a influentei cruciale pe care a exercitat-o intotdeauna asupra celor mai mari filozofi.