Jean Baudrillard （1929-2007）, a leading contemporary theorist from the 1970s to the present, was deeply influenced by anthropological thought. As an outcome of his prolonged encounter with anthropology he was able t...Jean Baudrillard （1929-2007）, a leading contemporary theorist from the 1970s to the present, was deeply influenced by anthropological thought. As an outcome of his prolonged encounter with anthropology he was able to devise a unique approach to the world. This approach enabled him to play a leading role in surpassing Marxist thought and in explaining contemporary terrorist attacks such as those of September 11, 2001 in the United States. Baudrillard, who is often correctly seen as making a contribution to contemporary anthropology, is also someone who is deeply indebted to anthropology. This aspect of Baudrillard is less well understood.展开更多
The first part of the paper presents the philosophical concept of Jean Baudrillard in which the issues of death and dying constitute an essential theme. Contemporary times in which the human condition seems to be extr...The first part of the paper presents the philosophical concept of Jean Baudrillard in which the issues of death and dying constitute an essential theme. Contemporary times in which the human condition seems to be extremely difficult are presented in a somber way. Isolation from nature results in the existence filled with fear of death. Natural death is a mentally inconceivable occurrence, an embarrassing phenomenon, and therefore unworthy of being remembered. Only sudden, spectacular death creating media hype seems to be meaningful and worth paying attention to. Instant death is set in opposition to slow death which is also called postponed death. Death in the heat of work, duties, obligations, and prohibitions is the death inflicted at the request of both an employee and an employer. Work rewarded with payment is an act of temporary suspension of death. Burdened with work, people forget about the debt they have incurred from nature. A contemporary employee does not deserve death and instant death is only act of salvation, the act of free will. The second part of the paper focuses on artistic activity of Zuzanna Janin and Bogna Burska. Both artists deal with an issue of media death using different means of expression. Spinning their narratives of intimate decaying and media rage in a public space, they correspond with the Baudrillard＇s philosophical thought.展开更多
Among the challenges of poststructuralist thought has been the demand that we acknowledge a kind of philosophical emptiness which many feel accompanies the perceived decline in foundationalist thought. By looking more...Among the challenges of poststructuralist thought has been the demand that we acknowledge a kind of philosophical emptiness which many feel accompanies the perceived decline in foundationalist thought. By looking more closely at Barthes and Baudrillard＇s writing on meaning, writing, language, truth, and the real, we can come to a better understanding of the emergence and implications of the poststructural challenge. The paper argues that Barthes＇ and Baudrillard＇s writing on these five key concepts can lead us to a more liberating conception of thought and contribute to our individual effort to become more challenging thinkers. This paper also （unavoidably） points to several points of convergence and divergence between Barthes and Baudrillard.展开更多
In this article, I discuss Baudrillard＇s critique of metaphysics based on his work The Mirror of Production, in which he stresses the principle of production--i.e., dichotomy and derivation. In the development of cla...In this article, I discuss Baudrillard＇s critique of metaphysics based on his work The Mirror of Production, in which he stresses the principle of production--i.e., dichotomy and derivation. In the development of classical German philosophy, the principle of production was speculatively established, first as Descartes＇ cogito, then as Fichte＇s Tathandlung, and finally as Hegel＇s labor, and grew to be a major principle of modem metaphysics. At the article＇s conclusion, the meaning of Symbolic Exchange--Baudrillard＇s utopian condition lying beyond the principle of production--will be discussed.展开更多
文摘Jean Baudrillard （1929-2007）, a leading contemporary theorist from the 1970s to the present, was deeply influenced by anthropological thought. As an outcome of his prolonged encounter with anthropology he was able to devise a unique approach to the world. This approach enabled him to play a leading role in surpassing Marxist thought and in explaining contemporary terrorist attacks such as those of September 11, 2001 in the United States. Baudrillard, who is often correctly seen as making a contribution to contemporary anthropology, is also someone who is deeply indebted to anthropology. This aspect of Baudrillard is less well understood.
文摘The first part of the paper presents the philosophical concept of Jean Baudrillard in which the issues of death and dying constitute an essential theme. Contemporary times in which the human condition seems to be extremely difficult are presented in a somber way. Isolation from nature results in the existence filled with fear of death. Natural death is a mentally inconceivable occurrence, an embarrassing phenomenon, and therefore unworthy of being remembered. Only sudden, spectacular death creating media hype seems to be meaningful and worth paying attention to. Instant death is set in opposition to slow death which is also called postponed death. Death in the heat of work, duties, obligations, and prohibitions is the death inflicted at the request of both an employee and an employer. Work rewarded with payment is an act of temporary suspension of death. Burdened with work, people forget about the debt they have incurred from nature. A contemporary employee does not deserve death and instant death is only act of salvation, the act of free will. The second part of the paper focuses on artistic activity of Zuzanna Janin and Bogna Burska. Both artists deal with an issue of media death using different means of expression. Spinning their narratives of intimate decaying and media rage in a public space, they correspond with the Baudrillard＇s philosophical thought.
文摘Among the challenges of poststructuralist thought has been the demand that we acknowledge a kind of philosophical emptiness which many feel accompanies the perceived decline in foundationalist thought. By looking more closely at Barthes and Baudrillard＇s writing on meaning, writing, language, truth, and the real, we can come to a better understanding of the emergence and implications of the poststructural challenge. The paper argues that Barthes＇ and Baudrillard＇s writing on these five key concepts can lead us to a more liberating conception of thought and contribute to our individual effort to become more challenging thinkers. This paper also （unavoidably） points to several points of convergence and divergence between Barthes and Baudrillard.
文摘In this article, I discuss Baudrillard＇s critique of metaphysics based on his work The Mirror of Production, in which he stresses the principle of production--i.e., dichotomy and derivation. In the development of classical German philosophy, the principle of production was speculatively established, first as Descartes＇ cogito, then as Fichte＇s Tathandlung, and finally as Hegel＇s labor, and grew to be a major principle of modem metaphysics. At the article＇s conclusion, the meaning of Symbolic Exchange--Baudrillard＇s utopian condition lying beyond the principle of production--will be discussed.
