Hyperreality

Hyperreality (not to be confused with surrealism) is a concept in semiotics and postmodern philosophy. The most famous hyperrealists include Jean Baudrillard, Daniel Boorstin, and Umberto Eco.

The birth of a hyperreality

Consumer objects have a sign exchange value, which means that they indicate something about the owner in the context of a social system (see Baudrillard). For example, a king who wears a crown uses the crown as a sign to indicate that he is king.

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Fundamentally, sign exchange values have no inherent meaning or value beyond what is agreed upon. As sign exchange values become more numerous, interaction becomes increasingly based upon things with no inherent meaning. Thus, reality becomes less and less important, as sign exchange takes precedence.

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If grains of sand are dropped one by one onto a table, at some arbitrary moment the grains become a heap of sand. Similarly, at some arbitrary point as sign exchange becomes more complex, reality shifts into hyperreality.

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