Jean Baudrillard: A Study in Cultural Metaphysics

by Charles Levin

Paperback

First published May 1, 1994

Reviews

[v]

Levin's main contribution, the concept of "cultural metaphysics" used to describe Baudrillard's entire project, is quite useful; it is a lot more evocative than "cultural theory" and it is a shame it has not been taken up elsewhere. Other elements of the book, such as his reading of simulation as what humans have always been up to, and his reading of Baudrillard as a liberal ironist, make a lot of safe sense. Other passages range from the overextended (the survey of, well, all of philosophical thought), to the somewhat outdated (later speculations on the future of critical and postmodern theory), to the genuinely funny and amusing (the chapter on Canada). Good use is made of Baudrillard's published work to that point, with somewhat of a bias for his early period, as well as selections from the murky depths of 80s/mid-90s theory. Rough chapters withstanding, Levin's book is nonetheless one of the most consistently engaging and insightful monographs on Baudrillard which, while almost entirely sympathetic to Baudrillard, still takes a look at him from a productive distance (Levin is a psychoanalyst).