Jean Baudrillard: The Defence of the Real

by Rex Butler

This book goes beyond Baudrillard′s writings on consumer objects, the Gulf War and America, to identify the fundamental logic that underpins his writings. It does this through a series of close readings of his main texts, paying particular attention to the form and internal coherence of his arguments. The book is written for all those who want a general introduction to Baudrillard′s work, and will also appeal to those readers who are interested in social theory, but who have not yet taken Baudrillard seriously.

Genres: Philosophy

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

Reviews

[v · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the subtlest and clearest books on Baudrillard I have come across.

Butler's intention is to read Baudrillard on his own terms; nowhere does he shove in some presupposed political or disciplinary goal by which to judge Baudrillard, as most others do. For Butler, these terms are simulation, seduction, and doubling. His gambit is that they're basically all the same thing, but also different: seduction is the limit to simulation which makes the simulation of seduction possible. Yeah, shit like that. And for Butler, these three terms all speak to what Baudrillard is really writing about: representation and the real, neither of which Baudrillard is blindly attacking. Butler smoothly and faithfully channels this paradoxical logic Baudrillard deploys in all of his work to find out what is going on when you really sit down and try to think about how Baudrillard's thought is actually supposed to function. Butler does so wonderfully and offers connections and analyses throughout Baudrillard's work (up to the mid-1990s) that are as surprising as their subject.

[Phoebe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Useful.