Monsieur Baudrillard est mort

The maverick French philosophe, most famous for declaring that the (first) Gulf war 'n'existe pas' has died. I am happy to report I had my little moment with the homme du simulacre. He came to London to give a lecture a few years ago, hosted by the Bartlett (the University of London's architecture school). He had just brought out a collection of photographs, mostly of old chairs and decaying living rooms. In front of over 1,000 eager beavers, I queried him about the absent other that is always implied as a form of presence in his pictures (classic continental philosophy type question). The question gave him pause. There, I'd made a famous French philosopher think. I think he more or less agreed with me in his response.

It does feel like an extraordinary era in French philosophy, which began with Althusser, graduated to Foucault and Derrida and then Deleuze, has finally closed with the transition of Jean Baudrillard.