Working Out The Subjective Procedure In Alain Badiou's Philosophy And John Vincent's Practice Interpretation Of The Gospel Of Mark

Abstract

This thesis deals with the writings of the French philosopher Alain Badiou and his ideas about the 'truth of the event' and the emergence of a 'faithful subject', and the writings of the British New Testament scholar, John Vincent, who has pioneered 'urban theology' and 'radical discipleship'. In particular, the thesis seeks to answer the question: How does a faithful subject or disciple come into being and, more centrally, by what process does a subject emerge and what specific procedure does the subject or disciple follow that leads to its own emergence? Finally, is it possible to create a generic model that demonstrates this subjective procedure? To answer these questions, the thesis investigates the connections between the schema of event, truth and the emergence of the subject of Alain Badiou, in his work Being and Event (2007), and John Vincent's work on radical discipleship based on, primarily, chapters 1-8 of the Gospel of Mark. It examines the development of these central concepts within the context of Badiou and Vincent's oeuvres and times. It investigates different methodological approaches to the thesis and explains how a recasting of the structure of the Markan gospel can provide a biblical schema that, to a degree, exemplifies but also challenges both Badiou and Vincent. It compares the nature of the subjective procedure in Vincent's radical view of Mark with Badiou's formal logic of subjective enquiry and asks what dynamic emerges from a dialogue between the two. Finally, it posits, via an analysis of those procedural models, the possibility of a formal model of the process of emergence of the faithful subject.

Date of Award	1 Aug 2025
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	The University of Manchester