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So we could say that nihilism is the negative subjectivation of finitude it is fundamentally the
organisedoranarchic(eitherispossible)consciousnessthatbecausewedie,nothingisimportant.
Themostclassicfigureofnihilismisthestatementthateverythingisdevalued,desymbolisedand
untenableinthefaceofdeath.Itisanequalisationofthetotalityofeverythingthatcouldbevalued,
faced with the radical ontological finitude that death represents. This question of the relation
between nihilism and values is, as you know, a central question in Nietzsches philosophy, which
takesupthisthemeofnihilisminordertomakeaveryimportantdiagnosticandcriticaluseofit.

In reality, the statement because we die, nothing is important can remain a theological one.
Indeed,wecouldsayNothingisimportant,exceptGod,excepteternalsalvation,excepttheother
life and we would then be embarking on something that is not nihilism, but the vocation for
martyrdomorevenplacinghopeindeathitself,giventhatdeathistheonlydoortotheinfinite,and
thustheonlydoortothevaluethatmatters,thesupremevalue.Soweoughttosaythatfull,com
plete nihilism is the nihilism that not only considers death proof of the inevitable devaluation of
differences,butwhichcompletesthisjudgementwiththedeathofGodhimself.Sowecanspeakof
completenihilismonlywhenthedeathofmanispairedwiththedeathofGod.Itwasevidentlyin
thissensethatDostoyevskymadeoneofhischaracterssaythatifGodisdead,theneverythingis
permitted.ThisisanihiliststatementinthesensethatifGodisdead,thennothingallowsusto
claim an inequality among different values. Judgement is itself of no interest, now that death is
constituteddoubly,bothbytheempiricaldeathofmenandthehistoricaldeathofthegods.

In reality, this nihilism probably organises a complicated historical disposition one that is still
unfinishedeventodaywhichnecessarilyconstructswhatIwillcallafalsecontradiction,acontra
dictionthatrepresentsthetwopossiblesubjectivevariantsofestablishednihilism.

Thefirstpositionisasceptical,atheistnihilism,whichisinfactthemostwidespreadideologybear
ing it in the contemporary world. Yes, its good to doubt and this is an absolutely fallacious
interpretationofDescartes,whenweknowthatwhatinterestedhimwastoprovetheexistenceof
Godandtoremainindoubtfortheleastlengthoftimepossible.Ithasbecomeasortofinherit
ance,withalonghistoryincludinginFranceandonethatresultsintheviewthat,fundament
ally, the lightly sceptical reign of reasonable opinions combined with a smiling atheism is an
acceptablesubjectivestate,evenifitdoesnotseemveryvigorousorexciting.Itisanihilistconfig
uration, but it is what we might call a nontragic nihilism the established, peaceable nihilism.
Theotherposition,onthecontrary,isthefrenzieddesirefortheresurrectionofGodafterall,the
godsmakequiteahabitofrevivingtheyhavealwaysshownthattheirgreatnessistomountachal
lengetodeathitself.

Thisisabsolutelywhatwehavebeforeustoday,includingatthelevelofaverageopinion:onthe
onehand,thewilltopreservesomethingofscepticalnihilism,ofsmilingatheismandthewayof
lifethatcorrespondstoit,andthen,ontheotherhand,anattemptattheimpossibleresurrectionof
the dead God. This contradiction is, I think, a false contradiction, a contradiction that organises
nihilism itself as a primordial renunciation of judgement and in particular as a renouncement of
the category of truth. This contradiction as is always the case with the great contradictions
todayhasatragicandacomicform(thoughitissometimesasinistercomedy).Thetragicformis
the extraordinary violent clash which is always over oil fields (it is an oilnihilism) between
sophisticatedbarbarismandwhatwemightcallarchaicbarbarism,killingeitherwiththeelectronic
drone or the butchers cleaver. In this latter case you are forced to invest something of your own
person, whereas with the drone you can stay in your armchair and command the murder 3,000
kilometres away, before telling the President who signed the murderorder how it went. It is the
tragicformbecauseitis,allthesame,hauntedbydeath,murder,andoccupationanditisallthe
moretragicbecauseitisnotpossibletoseeanywayoutofit,toseehowitwouldbepossibletogive

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meaningtoanykindofwayoutofthisclash,preciselybecauseitisaclashbetweentwopositions
thatareeachinacertainsenseuntenable.

Asforitscomicform,weseethisinthefactthatnewspaperscandevotefrontpageheadlinestothe
lengthofschoolgirlsskirts,asifthiswerethenewsoftheday.Thiswillgodowninhistoryasthe
skirtwarsItisnotwhollythesameastheothernihilism,butinrealityitexpressesthesamecon
tradiction,becausescepticalandnihilistatheismisalsoawholeuniverseofrepresentationsoffem
ininity,oftherelationtofemininity,etcandtheimpossibilityofresurrectingthedeadGodalso
bearsonthispoint.Sothisquarrelisthecomicformofwar.

Wecouldaskwhatthetwosidesofthiscontradictionhaveincommon.Whattheyhaveincommon
is,ultimately,finitude.Thisisclearinthescepticalandatheistformofnihilism,forwhichitisnt
judgementthatmatters,butthefreeplayofopinions.Asforthefigureoftheimpossibleresurrec
tionofthedeadGod,weknowwellenoughthatyoucanonlygettoGodbymanifestingandmartyr
isingyourfinitudesothisisalwaysamatterofthehumiliationoffinitudeinfrontofthegreatness
oftheinfinite,whichtranscendsandisexternaltoit.

Soinbothcasesitisthepoweroffinitudethatisconvokedasthegroundorterritoryoftheopposi
tion and it is convoked in its quadruple operating form: that is, of identity, repetition, necessity
andGodhimself.Thesefourtermsare,indeed,presentattheheartofthecontradictionthatIam
talkingabout.

Identity,becauseitisevidentlyanidentitarianwar.Awarofcivilisations,awarofreligions,awar
betweentheWestandwhatisnottheWest,awarbetweendemocracyandtyranny:ithascountless
names, but it does indeed manifest itself as an identitarian war. Repetition, because in a certain
senseitisascenethathasalreadybeenrehearsed,particularlyintherepresentationofaconflict
betweentheWestandtheOrient.Herewecanmobilisethecrusades,or,intheinversesense,the
expansionoftheMuslimreligionundertheOttomanEmpire,oragainintheothersense,colonial
ismandtheChristiansimposingtheirauthorityoverMuslimpeoplesineithercase,itisahistor
icallyconstitutedscenebeingrepeated.Necessity,becausethereisthenecessitytodeploymodern
ityconceivedastheirreducibleenemyoftradition.Thisisthequestionofsymbolisation,ofvalue,
which is posed as the need for modernity to be able to develop without the hindrances, the reti
cenceandtheobjectionsoftradition.SoultimatelywecanclearlyseethatGodisthedividingline
between,ontheonehand,scepticismwhichincludesthenecessityorauthorisationofblasphemy
and,ontheotherhand,theattempttoresuscitatethedeadGod,whichinsteadspeakstorespect
forthecontentsofthefaith.

Thecommonterminthisconflictistheexacerbationofthepoweroffinitude.WhatIwanttonote
hereisthatidentity,repetition,necessityandGodareinfactconcentratedinthethemeofdeath.
Thethoughtoffinitudeisessentiallyadeadlyandmortifying[mortifreetmortifiant]one.Death
istheimplicitorexplicitrecapitulationofthefourterms.

Firstly,identity.Inthelogicoffinitude,weonlyknowwhosomeoneiswhenheisdead.Deathis
thesealthatallowsustosaywhatsomeoneisotherwiseyoustilldonotknowwhatheiscapable
of.ThisisathemethatyouwillfindinGreektragedy.Itisdeaththatcomestosealthedestinyof
individualsidentitiesbutalsoofpeoplesidentities:weknowoftheeighteenthcenturyfascination
forthefalloftheRomanempire,whichwasthepointwhereitwaspossibletograspandtoconsider
whattheidentityoftheRomanempirehadtrulybeen,initsownbeing.Thereisaratherterrifying
phraseofSartresonthispoint,thattobedeadistobepreytotheliving.Deathiseffectivelythe
momentwhenyoucannolongerarguebackorpleadyourcauseagainsttheverdictthattheliving
choosetopassonyou.

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Repetition. Death is what makes every individual substitutable for any other. Death is the great
equaliserathemethatwefindextendingeverywhereacrossallreligions.Atthemomentofdeath
youstopbeingakingoratoileryouwilldie,andfacedwiththisterrifyingthreatofdeathandthe
lastJudgement,anyonewillbesubstitutableforanyother.Deathisthemeansbywhichhumanity
indefinitelyrepeatsitsconstitutivefinitude.ThatsthemeaningofthemeditationpursuedinEccle
siastes: Nothing new under the sun. That is, that everything is heading toward death, without
death itself changing anything. [Which then brings us to] the magnificent metaphor All the
streamsflowintothesea,andtheseaisneverfull.Thiscommunityindeathisalsoanannihilation
oftime,absolutelycancellingouttimescreativecapacity:Whatareahundredorathousandyears,
whentheycanbewipedoutinaninstant?(Bossuet).

Necessity.Deathistheonlythingthatwearecertainof.Everythingelseisaleatoryandvariable
ultimately,thepurenecessityofhumanlifeiscrystallisedindeath.MalrauxhasStalinsaying(and
itsbeenquestionedthathedid),doubtlessonadaywhenhewasfeelingmelancholic,thatUlti
mately,itsdeaththatwinsevenifyouareaStalin.ThisisStalinistnihilism.

AndthenGod,evidently.Godhasalwaysbeenconnectedtodeath.Godisthepromiseofimmortal
ity,indeed,immortalityinitself.Godisthenameofnondeath.

Youseethatdeathisthemotifthatrecapitulatestheinstancesoffinitude,alsobecauseitiscon
vokedastheultimateargumenteverytimethatwesuppose,orinvoke,thepossibilityofhumanitys
immanent,effectiveaccesstosometruthofaninfinitepowerwealwayssayinthelastanalysis,
manisamortalanimal.Fromthispointofview,Ialwaysadmiredthecanonicalexampleyoulearn
inschoolofwhatalogicalargumentis:Allmenaremortal,andSocratesisaman,soSocratesis
mortal.Connectedtogetherinthisexampleisatriplerelationbetween(1)necessitythatis,syllo
gism, as the logical form of necessity, (2) the pretention to wisdom or greatness as embodied in
Socrates,and(3)theknotbetweenthetwo,death.Thispedagogicalsyllogismisatoxicvehicleof
finitude.Thatitiswhyitisgiventoeveryoneasaprincipleoflogicalwisdom.

Nowitwouldbeinterestingtoaskwhattheabsolutemodernformofthatis.Ithinkthatitsnotat
allamatterofinsistingonthevalueofdeath,givingitanimportantplace,butratheracaseofcov
ering up its finitude. That means calmly setting this finitude at a distance, relegating it to lost
corners,ifpossible,withtheideathat,inanycase,wealreadylivealongtimeFundamentally,the
ideaisthatdeathcanultimatelybecoveredupbyacarpetofcommodities.Consumeristmobility,
the possibility of humanity always having another go within its reach, the serial another of the
commodity(anotherobject,anotherjourney)isinrealitywhatcoversupthecategoriesofdeath,
atthesametimeasbeingthesameasit.Ifwethinkaboutit,commodityconsumerismisalso,ulti
mately, the repetition, the identity of objects etc. So it is death in its consumable form. I always
have this feeling that when we buy an object, no matter what it is, particularly the most useless
objectsthatis, the most amusing ones it is like in the Middle Ageswhenpeopleusedtobuy
indulgences.Itisbuyingalittleguaranteeagainstthevilenessofdeath,alittlesliceofantideath
fetish.TheimageIhaveofthatinmymindisthatafterhavinglittlebylittlebeencoveredupby
thesecommodities,andthenfinallydisappearingbehindthem,wearedead:andthatiswherethe
truereality,thetrulyimmortalreality,triumphstheimmortalityofthemarket.Thatisthegreat
comfortlifeiscoveredupbylittleparcelsofindulgences,suchthatthiscoveringendsupdispla
cingdeathsimplybecauseitisidenticaltodeath.

Inreality,Ithinkthatthegreatelementofmodernityistohavegeneralisedslowdeath,thatis,the
avoidanceasmuchaspossibleofcatastrophicdeath.Thatiswhyoursocietiesfinditveryhard
todealwithcatastrophes.Theremustnotbecatastrophes:thisispathological.Tragic,unexpected
deathisunacceptable.Suddenly,deathhasarrivedbutwhatisitdoinghere?Whatisthegovern
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killing you. We are forced to feel this as a terrible drama. Why? Ultimately we have much less
chanceofbeingkilledintheplanethanwalkingdownthestepsthisisnotatthelevelofgeneral
statistics,butbecauseitisadeathoutintheopen,adeaththatdoesnotfitintothelawofmodern
death,whichmeansdyingveryslowly,and,ifpossible,almostwithoutnoticing.

Thethesisunderlyingallthis,itmustbesaid,isthatdeathistheconstitutiveprincipleofhumanity
assuch.Thederelictionofmanasthebeingforwhichthereisdeaththeproblembeingtodeal
with the extreme anguish that this conviction provokes. The contemporary philosopher who
thought this through most deeply was Heidegger. Indeed, he said that from the point of view of
mans immanent end, he is ultimately a being toward death, and he mounted a fundamentally
important meditation on finitude on this basis. Ill read you an extract fromBeing and Time [all
quotesusedherearefromJoanStambaughsEnglishtranslation]:

Endingdoesnotnecessarilymeanfulfillingoneself.Itthusbecomesmoreurgenttoaskinwhat
sense,ifany,deathmustbegraspedastheendingofDasein[]Initiallyendingmeansstop
ping,anditmeansthisinsensesthatareontologicallydifferent.Therainstops.Itisnolonger
objectivelypresent.Theroadstops.Thisendingdoesnotcausetheroadtodisappear,butthis
stoppingratherdeterminestheroadasthisobjectivelypresentone.

Here Heidegger is distinguishing and here Ill return to the terms I used before, between the
finiteaspassivestoppingandthefiniteasanoperation.Therainstops:ithasdisappeared,ithas
stoppedpassively.Whereasiftheroadstops,itisbecauseitisitsownend,ithasledussomewhere
whichisitsend,anendthatconstitutestheroadasadirection,atrack,leadingfromonepointto
another.Inthiscase,theendclosesoffthepossibilityofoperation.

Henceendingasstoppingcanmeaneithertochangeintotheabsenceofobjectivepresenceor,
however, to be objectively present only when the end comes. The latter kind of ending can
againbedeterminativeforanunfinishedthingobjectivelypresent,asaroadunderconstruc
tionbreaksoff,oritmayratherconstitutethefinishednessofsomethingobjectivelypresent
thepaintingisfinishedwiththelaststrokeofthebrush.

Sohereweimmediatelyhavethemetaphorofwork,inthefactthatthelaststrokeofthebrushis
thethingthatbringsustoitsfinishedglory,whereasiftheroadstopsbecauseithasntbeenbuilt
yet,thenthatisatransitoryandpassivestopping.

Evenendinginthesenseofdisappearingcanstillbemodifiedaccordingtothekindofbeingof
thebeing.Therainisatanend,thatis,disappeared.Thebreadisatanend,thatis,usedup,no
longeravailableassomethingathand.

Toputitanotherway,thebreadisusedup,butithasfulfilledtheroleitwasmadefor.

NoneofthesemodesofendingareabletocharacterizedeathappropriatelyastheendofDa
sein. If dying were understood as beingatanend in the sense of an ending of the kind dis
cussed, Dasein would be posited as something objectively present or at hand. In death, Da
seinisneitherfulfillednordoesitsimplydisappearithasnotbecomefinishedorcompletely
availableassomethingathand.

Toputitanotherway:indeath,Daseinisnotliketheroad,therain,thetableorthebreadweate.

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Rather,justasDaseinconstantlyalreadyisitsnotyetaslongasitis,italsoalreadyisitsend.
Theendingthatwehaveinviewwhenwespeakofdeathdoesnotsignifyabeingatanendof
Dasein, but rather a being toward the end of this being. Death is a way to be that Dasein
takes over as soon as it is. As soon as a human being is born, he is old enough to die
rightaway.

Heideggersdescriptionofdeathessentiallyconsistsofsayingthat,inmanscase,finitudeisradic
allyimmanent.Deathisnotsomethingexternal,indicatingapassivefinitudeorafinitudeachieved
byhumanlife:rather,humanlifeiscommandedororientedtowarddeath,fromwithinDaseinis
toward death from the beginning. To put that another way, the thing proper to man is that the
questionofdeath,offinitude,isinternaltohisexistenceandtohisdefinition,andnottheresultof
fulfilment or stopping, which are but empirical appearances. For human life, the end is at the
beginning.Itisanineluctablecomponentoftheprospectoflifeinitself.

Ithinkthatherewehavegottothedensestandmostcompleteformofanorganicrelationbetween
humanexistenceandfinitude.Inmyviewthisisthemostradicalthesisconcerningtheassumption
of finitude, because it is a thesis that makes finitude immanent in an absolute way. Ultimately it
makesdeathplaythesamerolethattheabsoluteplaysinHegelsthinking(asheultimatelycon
cluded that if we manage to attain the absolute, that is because the absolute is with us from the
beginning). If we take Heideggers texts seriously, they tell us that death is also the absolute of
humanlife,thatis,atthesametimeitsbeginning,itsoriginanditsfate.

I want to defend another thesis concerning death, a thesis that, conversely, upholds the absolute
exteriorityofdeathathesisthatmakesdeathradicallynonimmanent.Ifyouwantthecomplete
details, seeLogiques des mondes, Book III, Section 4, a chapter entitled Lexistence et la mort,
whereyouwillfindthewholecontextthatIcanonlygiveabriefsketchofhere.

The idea I want to defend and its a simple one, truth be told is that death is something
thathappenstoyouitisnottheimmanentunfoldingofsomelinearprogramme.Evenifwesay
thathumanlifecannotgobeyondahundredandtwentyyears,forbiological,geneticetc.reasons,
deathasdeathisalwayssomethingthathappenstoyou.OnegreatthinkerondeathisLaPalice.
A truth we get from La Palice is that a quarter an hour before his death, he was still alive. That
isntatallabsurdornave.ItmeansthataquarteranhourbeforedeathhewasntwhatHeidegger
sees as a quarter hour before death he wasnt abeingtowarddeath ever since his birth. A
quarterofanhourbeforehisdeathhewasalive,anddeathhappenstohim.AndIwouldmaintain
thatdeathalwayscomesfromtheoutside.Spinozasaidsomethingexcellentonthatscore:Nothing
canbedestroyedexceptbyanexternalcause.Yes,Illtakethat.Spinozagivesalongproofofthat,
butIwontgiveittoo.Thismeansthatdeathisinapositionofradicalexteriority:wewouldnot
evensaythatahumanreality,aDasein,ismortal.Becausemortalmeanstosaythatitcontains
thevirtualityofdeathinanimmanentfashion.Intruth,allthatisisgenericallyimmortal,andthen
deathintervenes.

Iwoulddefinedeathasamutationofexistentialstatusinagivenworld,whichIwilltrytogiveyou
ageneralschemaof.Weareallinaworld,Heideggerisrightonthat,wearesomewhere,weare
localised and our very being contains and retains this localisation. The metaphysical approach
Iproposeisthefollowing:theregisterofbeing[ltre]ontheonehand,andtheregisterof exist
enceontheother,havetobedistinguished.Beingbelongstopuremultiplicity,underoneformor
another,whereasexistenceisalwaysexistenceinaplace.Soitisnecessarytodistinguish,asHeide
ggermasterfullydid,betweenbeingandbeingthere[Dasein].Thoughtonbeingisonething(as
youknow,Imaintainthatitfuseswiththeanalysisofmultiplicities,ormathematics),andthought
onexistenceisanother.

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LetssupposethatXandYexistintheworld.Theyhaveabeingoftheirown,independentofthe
factthattheyareinthisworld.Butwhatdoesexistinginaworldmeanforthem?Itmeans:being
inastateofbeingdifferentiatedfromalltheotherswhoareinthesameworld.Thesingularityof
existenceisthepossiblesystemicdifferentiationbetweenanelementoftheworldandanelement
of the same world. So somewhere there has to be the possibility of evaluating the difference
betweenthetwo.Sowewouldsaythatexistinginaworldistobetakeninapracticallyinfinite
webofmoreorlessstrongdifferenceswitheverythingthatisintheworldinquestion:thatswhat
constitutesthesingularityofourbelongingtotheworld.

WewillusethetermD(x,y)todenotethedifferencebetweenXandY,arelationwhosevaluemeas
urestheextenttowhichXandYaredifferent.ThedifferenceD(x,y)hasavaluethatwillsituate
itselfbetweenaminimum()andamaximum(M).IfitequalsM,itisbecauseXandYareverydif
ferent,theyareasdifferentascouldbeifitequals,itisbecausetheyarealmostthesame,assim
ilar as they could be. A world, in its basic machinery, is a game of differentiations proper to this
determinateworld,oscillatingbetweenaminimumandamaximum.

Soonthatbasiswecansaythatforsomeperson,existingintheworldisthemeasureofdifference
betweenherselfandherself.ThiswouldbewrittenE(x)=D(x,x).Thatisaverysimpleandordinary
idea.Existenceisalwayssomethingqualitative,itisanintensity:therearemomentswhenyoufeel
alienated,thatis,verydifferentiatedfromyourselfsoD(x,x)hasamaximalvalue.Andthereare
othermomentswhereyoufeelyourselffullyexist,whereyourexistenceisintense,youfeelcloseto
your true identity so D(x,x) has a minimal value. Between the two it fluctuates via intermediate
values,andXandYarenotabsolutelydifferentnorabsolutelyidentical,butaveragelydifferent.

Wecanalsoexpressitbysayingthattheexistenceofamultiplesomething,relativetoaworld,is
thedegreetowhichinthisworldthemultipleappearsidenticaltoitself(Logiquesdesmondesp.
285). This time, this is expressed in the value of the function identity to oneself (annotated
Id(x.x)):ifId(x,x)hasthemaximumvalue(M),thatisbecausethismultipleexistsabsolutelyinthe
worldunderconsiderationandifId(x,x)hastheminimalvalue()thatisbecauseitsexistencein
thisworldhasanextremelyweakintensity.

Asfordeath,itis,formally,thesudden,contingentpassageimposedfromtheoutsidefromthe
situationId(x,x)=p[pbeingsomenonminimalvalue]tothesituationId(x,x)=.Thatswhywe
canalwayssaythatiswhatdeathis,whenweseedeathandweabsolutelyknowthatiswhatitis.
Weknowthatitsdeathbecausexisstillthere,buttheintensityofhisexistenceisalmostentirely
eliminated.Thefableoftheimmortalsouldoesnotrelyonthedistinctionbetweenmindandbody,
butitisrootedwithinit,thatis,inthedistinctionbetweenbeingandexistence.Theideaofimmor
talityisthatinthisworldtheworldthatprescribedtheintensityofanexistenceproper to this
worldxisdead,butthatdoesnotmeanthatheisdeadineveryworld.

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