Why read The Illusion of the End?

Book cover of The Illusion of the End

Book description

The year 2000, the end of the millennium: is this anything other than a mirage, the illusion of an end, like so many other imaginary endpoints which have littered the path of history?
In this remarkable book Jean Baurdrillard-France's leading theorist of postmodernity-argues that the notion of the end is…

Explore

Topics

Genres

History

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

1 author picked The Illusion of the End as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Amin Samman

Author

Baudrillard is by now famous for declaring the end or disappearance of pretty much everything. That includes ‘history,’ and it is in this book where he speaks most directly about this. But unlike others, he doesn’t say that we’ve reached the end of history. Instead, he suggests that we’ve banished the end by going beyond it. It is a terrifying thought, really, because it means we can only dream of the end, and that beneath this illusion is something endless, artificial, and inhuman.

From Amin's list on The best philosophy books that challenge how you think about history.