"Twice in its history, philosophy has arisen from the sophists' threat: first with Plato and then again with Kant, who saved it from Humean skepticism. Today, when we again live in an era of globalized sophism (deconstructionist relativism, finite "weak thought"), Alain Badiou's project is no less than to repeat the Platonic-Kantian move, and to reestablish philosophy as the theory of universal Truth. The task is immense--and the miracle is that Badiou effectively delivers what he promises. For this reason alone, Badiou's thought is the single most important event in contemporary philosophy."