The conception of contemporary hypercivilization: J. Baudrillard

Abstract

The article deals with the conception of hypercivilization that was developed by contemporary French media philosopher Jean Baudrillard and discusses its originality, innovation and philosophical‐sociological validity. It is compared with the classical conception of Western civilization, highlighting their basic similarities and differences. The author investigates the relationships between classical Western civilization and traditional metaphysics and between contemporary hypercivilization and pataphysics. The first section of the article is introduced to the meaning and problematicity of the concept of civilization, analyzing the connections between the concepts of civilization and culture. The second section discusses traditional French concept of civilization. The third section analyzes and interprets the conception of hypercivilization of Baudrillard. The last one from a critical thinking perspective discusses the philosophical‐sociological validity of the conception of hypercivilization of Baudrillard, seeking for possible parallels with the conception of classical Western civilization.