Ethics after Metaphysics

Ethical Imperatives of Badiou and Žižek

Abstract

The intense focus on moral issues in contemporary society arises from the intersection of two key factors. On the one hand, postmodern criticism has undermined the credibility of any “grand narratives”. Conversely, active engagement in moral assessments regarding others, one's own actions, and historical events necessitate the development of novel approaches to establishing ethical frameworks. From a philosophical standpoint, this scenario prompts inquiry into the potential for ethics beyond or separate from metaphysical considerations. Put differently, we pose the question: is it conceivable to make ethical choices without relying on the “highest” universal law that governs the external realm? To answer this question, we examine the theoretical frameworks of Badiou and Žižek. Badiou and Žižek label their ontologies as “materialist” and deny any “idea”, substance, or law behind the observable world. Within these ontological frameworks, Badiou and Žižek propose ethical imperatives “fidelity to event” and “fidelity to desire”. The idea of “fidelity” grants practical consistency to these imperatives, termed “loyalty”. My hypothesis is that beyond any metaphysical foundation, we can find a formal structure of the ethical search itself. This search starts from doubts in any known way of being, but in its most consistent or radical form, it rejects anything known as an ethical criterion. This form of ethical inquiry echoes the criticism of metaphysics but is not determined by it. In imperatives “fidelity to the event” and “fidelity to the desire” terms “event” and “desire” signify or substitute the unknown itself.