Founder of ‘hyper-reality’ Baudrillard dies, aged 77

JEAN Baudrillard, a French philosopher and social theorist known for his provocative commentaries on consumerism, excess and what he claimed was the disappearance of reality, has died.

Baudrillard, 77, died on Tuesday at his home in Paris after a long illness.

A sociologist by training, he is perhaps best known for his concepts of ‘hyper-reality’ and ‘simulation’.