Pregledni rad
https://doi.org/10.5673/sip.64.1.3
Back to Sociological Impressionism: Simmel, Baudrillard, and the Theoretical Path from the Blasé Attitude to Hyperreality
Nataša Jovanović Ajzenhamer
; Filozofski fakultet Sveučilišta u Beogradu Srbija
Sažetak
This paper advances the reasons why it is necessary to reread Simmel’s essay on
the metropolis and the concept of blasé attitude, which has already been analysed and examined
many times in the sociological production so far (especially in studies of urban sociology).
Our first aim is to show that Simmel’s theory itself, and especially the idea of the blasé attitude,
is a prelude to what Jean Baudrillard would later describe in his theory as the mental and social
condition of individuals living in a hyperreal world, in a world of simulations and simulacra.
The connection between the two theorists has so far received relatively little attention in secondary
analysis, which gives this research its originality. Among classical sociologists, Simmel
has repeatedly been interpreted as one of the most important precursors of themes later associated
with postmodern social theory, although this represents only one of several possible
trajectories through which his work has been received. Also, bearing in mind the contemporary
context marked by the existence of several major war zones shaking the world, we believe it is
important to recall both Simmel and Baudrillard in order to sharpen as much as possible our
sociological tools for understanding the way individuals perceive what is happening on their
screens, and is coming from Ukraine or the Middle East. The aim of this paper is to provide a
theoretical analysis of the way in which Simmel’s blasé attitude becomes an answer to Baudrillard’s
question of why the (Gulf ) War did not take place.
Ključne riječi
Georg Simmel; Jean Baudrillard; blasé attitude; hyperreality; sociological theory
Hrčak ID:
350774
URI
Datum izdavanja:
25.8.2026.
Posjeta: 0 *