ABSTRACT
Chapter 4, ‘Real Happiness is Revolutionary’, is an account of happiness that aims to establish a progressive, if not also revolutionary, conception of happiness. This is particularly important in a milieu where happiness has been both co-opted by industry and rejected by psychoanalysis. The key theorist here is Alain Badiou, who has formulated a metaphysics of happiness that is rooted in what is called ‘affect’ theory, particularly as introduced by Baruch Spinoza. It also explores Stéphane Mallarmé A Throw of the Dice, Samuel Beckett Ill Seen Ill Said, and Abderrahmane Sissako’s film, Waiting for Happiness, as aesthetic analogues of Badiou’s view of happiness.
