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A Death in the Global Village

Jean Baudrillard

Philosopher Jean Baudrillard died Tuesday. A Frenchman, Baudrillard, wrote many books, among them Simulacra and Simulation.

As a thinker, he pioneered the concepts of "hyperreality" and "simulation." a change in our post modern culture where simulated experiences and feelings replace authentic feeling and experience.
The Matrix series of movies were partially based on a flawed understanding of Baudrillard's thought and contained references to his philosophy.

In recent work Baudrillard dealt with terrorism: from the New York Times obituary:

“The Spirit of Terrorism: And Requiem for the Twin Towers” was published just a year after 9/11. In it, he argued that Islamic fundamentalists tried to create their own reality; the resulting media spectacle would give the impression that the West was constantly under threat of terrorist attack.

The current American invasion of Iraq is an effort to “put the rest of the world into simulation, so all the world becomes total artifice and then we are all-powerful,” he told The Times. “It’s a game.”

Posted at March 12, 2007 5:21 PM

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