Two images of ideal: Badiou and Plato

The comparison of the strikingly different perspectives on the concepts of “idea”, “the ideal” within works of the two philosophers, separated by ages, uncovers the problem of a relation between “idea” and the phenomena of multiplicity, becoming and movement, also revealing certain possibilities for interpreting “idea” as the principle of liberation from (existing) laws/rules, rather than the pillar of their validity. Herein we intend to demonstrate the potential of interpreting “idea” through the lens of the phenomena of becoming, difference and being as exemplified by A. Badiou's works. Clarifying such a relation is an important task, because in classical Platonism - as well as in European culture in general - the aspects of immobility and unity of “idea” are emphasized, still creating the impression of an odd isolation of “idea” from the practical reality of the “life world”. However such an image of “idea” is clearly destroyed by the logic of the dialogue “Parmenides”, where the One is deemed inconceivable without the Other/Many. Within this context it becomes possible to understand “idea” in a “non-platonic” way (though rooted in the platonic way of thinking) through the lens of the “the other/many”, rather than “the one”. We claim that A. Badiou's interpretation of Plato follow the forementioned frame of understanding, when he grasps “idea” as something profoundly challenging logic, or mathematical structure of any given world.