Simulacrum

As a simulacrum or simulacra (plural: simulacra or simulacra ) is called a real or imagined thing that is related to something or someone else, or similar. The Latin term simulacrum is derived via simulo ( " image, likeness, image mirror, dream image, idol, Mirage " ) from simul ( " similar, equals" ) from. The meaning can be pejorative in the sense of deceptive appearances, but they can also be understood in the context of a positive concept of productive imagination.

Use in Lucretius

The precise form of simulacrum word goes back to the atomistic theory of perception of Lucretius. According to it the things generate their own visibility by sending out constantly fine layers of its outer envelope in the room, then leave corresponding marks on the retina. These flying layers or " cuticle " are the simulacra. ( cf. Lucretius: De Rerum Natura, Book 4, V. 30-53 )

Simulacrum as an instrument of knowledge

According to Roland Barthes, a simulacrum reconstructs his subject by selection and recombination and designed it so new. The result is a " world that resembles the first, but you can not copy, but want to make visible ." The simulacrum is so far also a feature of structuralist activity:

" The goal of all structuralist activity [ ... ] is an 'object' to be reconstituted so that in this reconstitution comes to light, the rules by which it works ( which its 'functions' are ). The structure is actually thus only a simulacrum of the object, but targeted, interested ' simulacrum, since the imitating object brings something to light, the invisible or, if you prefer, remained unintelligible in the natural object " (Roland Barthes. : The structuralist activity In: . Kursbuch May 5, 1966 p 190-196 ). ..

Simulacrum as a trace

Jacques Derrida sees the simulacrum as a feature of the track ( and thus as opposed to Walter Benjamin's concept of aura):

" Since the track is not a property, but the simulacrum of a property that dissolves, shifts, points, not actually taking place, the extinction is part of their structure. " (Jacques Derrida. The différance In: Peter Engelmann (ed.): postmodernism and deconstruction. Reclam, Stuttgart, 1990. p. 107 )

Media Theory

The simulacrum is also a central concept in contemporary theories of virtuality and virtualization in particular by Gilles Deleuze, Paul Virilio, Pierre Klossowski and especially Jean Baudrillard. Baudrillard distinguishes between various historical forms of simulacra ( imitation, production, simulation) and is particularly concerned with the simulacrum of the simulation as the dominant simulacrum of certain mass media present society. The hallmark of this modern simulacrum is by Baudrillard is that the distinction between original and copy, model and copy, reality and imagination become impossible and has given a general " referentiality " of the characters and images.

Also in constructivist -oriented theories of media an actual dissolution of the classical distinctions and differences is stated and examined under the slogans of virtualization, Metamedialisierung, autopoietisation, Autologisierung, cybernetisation and fictionalization.

Literary Reception of the term

Simulacra ( Original title: The Simulacra ) is the title of a novel by American writer Philip K. Dick from 1964 Dick also used this term often used as a synonym to "Android ", which means human looking and acting robots is called. .

Simulacron -3 is the title of a science fiction novel by American author Daniel F. Galouye of 1964, in which it comes to the idea of ​​a fully simulated within a computer program illusory world. The material was filmed twice: once as World on a Wire (1973 ) by Rainer Werner Fassbinder, one more time as The 13th Floor - Are you what do you think? (1999). Also the film The Matrix (1999 ) attacks the idea of ​​the world as a simulacrum.