At first glance, Samuel Beckett's writing--where scenes of violence and cruelty often provide the occasion for an unremittingly bleak comedy--would seem to offer the reader few examples of ethical conduct. However, following the recent "ethical turn" in critical theory, there has been growing interest in the ethicality of Beckett's work. Following Alain Badiou's highly influential claim for Beckett as essentially an ethical thinker, it is time to ask: What is the relation between Beckett's work and the ethical? Is Beckett's work profoundly ethical in its implications, as both humanist and...
At first glance, Samuel Beckett's writing--where scenes of violence and cruelty often provide the occasion for an unremittingly bleak comedy--would...