The "Hyperreal"

In Baudrillard's work "The Precession of the Simulacra," he aims to update the argument presented in the Borges fable of simulation. In the fable, cartographers drew a map that ends up covering the territory of an empire exactly, reproducing with accuracy everything within the empire. However, he argues that currently, this is an outdated way of thinking of simulation, as it is only a reproduction of the real. Instead, the author argues that our contemporary society is concerned with the concept of the "hyperreal". With the birth of technologies such as AI and VR, it is no surprise that Baudrillard makes this argument, as he states that the "hyperreal" does not have to be rooted in reality in order for it to be considered real.

He states that there are three levels (or orders) of simulacra. The first order of simulacra creates the real as distinguished from representation. For this order, he gives the example of a painting. The second order, he claims, blurs the distinction between reality and representation. One example of this could be anything that is manufactured because, through the use of machines, the indexicality of each item is erased. The third order of simulacra is what constitutes the bulk of his essay and focuses on the creation of new realities through the hyperreal.

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