Paroxysm

Jean Baudrillard is one of the most controversial and stimulating figures in contemporary philosophy and cultural criticism. Whether embraced or reviled for his reflections on 'hyperreality', he never fails to evoke strong reactions. Yet, all too often, discussion of Baudrillard's ideas takes place at one remove, with much imputed to him. It is sometimes claimed that his writing is too abstract or obscure to analyse rigorously. The Indifferent Paroxyst offers the reader a new way to approach Baudrillard's ideas through the use of the interview format. Closely questioned by French journalist Philippe Petit, Baudrillard covers a vast range of topics, including Fukuyama; 1989 and the collapse of Communism; Bosnia, the Gulf War, Rwanda and the New World Order; globalisation and universalisation; the return of ethnic nationalisms; the nature of war; revisionism and Holocaust denial; Deleuze, Foucault, Bataille and Virilio; nihilism and the apocalyptic; the practice of writing; virtual reality; the West and the East; the culture of victimhood and repentance; human rights and citizenship; French intellectuals and engagement; the nature of capitalism today; consumer society and social exclusion; liberation; death, violence and necrophilia; reality, illusion and the media; and destabilisation of all aspects of life, including sexuality. Baudrillard's answers--which span politics, philosophy and culture--are concise, witty and trenchant, and they serve both as an accessible introduction to his ideas for the newcomer and as a fascinating clarification of recent positions for the connoisseur.

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.

Philippe Petit spends most of his time high-wire walking. The rest of his time he divides between New York City and a hideaway in the Catskills.