The Mysterious Dao of Illusion
Lao Tzu and Jean Baudrillard
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In the lecture hall of the French Academy, Jean Baudrillard was nearing the end of his lecture to a hundred or so men and women. For the past two hours, the guru of postmodern cultural thought had regaled his audience of French intellectuals with ideas on the unrealistic nature of the current culture.
Hyperreality, the layered effect of modern media images on the consciousness of the populace, was the central theme of much of the presentation. A man in his late sixties with a full head of white hair swept back from his high forehead, Baudrillard wore a brown suit that seemed a bit tight for his large frame. HIs dark eyes behind steel-rimmed eyeglasses swept the audience.
But now he paused, for this was the point he wished to have the members of the French Academy and their guests remember long after they left the hall.
“Mindlessness is always cultural disaster,” Baudrillard nearly shouted, carefully emphasizing each word. “Since Man has walked upon this Earth and gathered together into civilizations, this current level of mindlessness has never before existed.”
He let his words sink in before continuing. “Mindless violence, mindless politics. All forms of mindlessness.” The silence in the room was profound. No…
