Passwords

by Jean Baudrillard

Overview

In his analysis of the deep social trends rooted in production, consumption, and the symbolic, Jean Baudrillard touches the very heart of the concerns of the generation currently rebelling against the framework of the consumer society. With the ever-greater mediatization of society, Baudrillard argues that we are witnessing the virtualization of our world, a disappearance of reality itself, and perhaps the impossibility of any exchange at all. This disenchanted perspective has become the rallying point for all those who reject the traditional sociological and philosophical paradigms of our age.

Passwords offers us twelve accessible and enjoyable entry points into Baudrillard’s thought by way of the concepts he uses throughout his work: the object, seduction, value, impossible exchange, the obscene, the virtual, symbolic exchange, the transparency of evil, the perfect crime, destiny, duality, and thought.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781844676767
Publisher:	Verso Books
Publication date:	01/10/2011
Series:	Radical Thinkers
Edition description:	Second Edition
Pages:	112
Product dimensions:	5.10(w) x 7.70(h) x 0.40(d)

About the Author

Jean Baudrillard (1929–2007) began teaching sociology at the Université de Paris-X in 1966. He retired from academia in 1987 to write books and travel until his death in 2007. His many works include Simulations and Simulacra, America, The Perfect Crime, The System of Objects, Passwords, The Transparency of Evil, The Spirit of Terrorism, and Fragments, among others.

Table of Contents

	Preface	vii
	Introduction	xi
	The Object	1
	Value	7
	Symbolic Exchange	13
	Seduction	19
	The Obscene	25
	The Transparency of Evil	31
	The Virtual	37
	Randomness	43
	Chaos	49
	The End	53
	The Perfect Crime	59
	Destiny	65
	Impossible Exchange	71
	Duality	79
	Thought	83
	The Last Word	89

Editorial Reviews

First prize for cerebral cold-bloodedness goes to French philosopher Jean Baudrillard.”—The New York Times

“Provocative ... he brings a reading of signs and symbols most will find interesting.”—Toronto Globe and Mail

From the Publisher

Provocative...he brings a reading of signs and symbols most will find interesting.

Toronto Globe and Mail

First prize for cerebral cold-bloodedness goes to French philosopher Jean Baudrillard.

The New York Times