Abstract
Based on such phenomenological categories as perception and body, Paul Virilio's critical analysis of modernity displays some unusual features. Different from Jean Baudrillard's theory of simulation that ontologically denies reality, Virilio maintains that there are generations of realities, which implies that reality itself does not dissolve but is replaced by other realities. Virilio further develops a critique of modernity focusing on “speed” and constructs his philosophy of speed. He argues that speed creates new dimensions of time and space and that the social structure is thus changed through the change of bodily perception. In modern society, digital technology uses the visual-audio vehicles running at the speed of light to create tele-presence, polar inertia and mediated perception, which dissolve and dispel people's real perception and worldly experience. Virilio vehemently criticizes contemporary technology for it leads to the “doomsday” crisis of modern society. This article follows the phenomenological path of Virilio to rethink his philosophy of speed, in order to discuss the close connection between his intensive critical style and hidden nature of technology.
Keywords
Paul Virilio; modernity; speed; phenomenology
First Page
104
Last Page
114
Recommended Citation
Li, Tian. 2024. "Phenomenology of the Speed of Light: Paul Virilio's Philosophy of Speed and Critique of Modernity." Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art 43, (4): pp.104-114. https://tsla.researchcommons.org/journal/vol43/iss4/11
