Simulacrum

The concept of the simulacrum, meaning image, semblance, or appearance, has a long and complex history. The term simulacrum derives from the Latin simulare meaning to make like or simulate (plural form: simulacra), and the concept is central to Platonic philosophy, to Judeo-Christian theology, and to modern, critical thought, where the notion has been applied to the media and consumer culture. The simulacrum is often understood as constituting a “problem” because it raises the issues of falsity, fakery, and masquerade; simulacrum suggests mere appearance, that which is lacking in substance or true and essential qualities. For this reason, simulacra have long been associated with the devil and the malefic, with women and their use of cosmetics and artifice, and more generally with lies, distortion, and error. In recent decades, the idea of the simulacrum has been explored and debated with a new energy because it provides a way of thinking critically about consumerism, the media, and virtual reality. The notion has influenced visual artists, such as Andy Warhol, and science fiction writers and filmmakers, notably the Wachowski brothers in their Matrix trilogy. The problem of the simulacrum has concerned sociologists seeking to understand the nature of consumerism and media theorists who suggest that the prevalence of images in contemporary society alters perceptions of time and space, and of history, politics, and culture.

The problem of the simulacrum as false copy is discussed at length by Plato, most fully in The Sophist. Plato introduces a three-tier hierarchy of things. First, and the foundation of his system, are essential or ideal forms or “models.” Second are copies that resemble the model, and third are “copies of copies” or simulacra. Assuming the existence of an infinite, spiritual realm of pure models, Plato is at pains to distinguish between “good” copies and “bad” copies or simulacra. Simulacra are “bad” copies because they do not resemble the model, or resemble it only externally and in appearance; they do not share in the spiritual essence of ideal forms as “good” copies do. For example, the sophist is a “bad” copy of the philosopher, using similar arguments but in a self-seeking fashion, whereas the true philosopher is a genuine lover of wisdom. Platonic philosophy raises the problem of the simulacrum as dangerous, misleading, and potentially evil “false copy;” the “phantastic” simulacrum or appearance must be exposed.

Platonic philosophy profoundly influenced the directions taken by Judeo-Christian theology and Enlightenment philosophy. A central principle of the Christian faith is that God made man (Adam) in His own image and likeness (Genesis 1:26–27). Adam and Eve are “good” reflections, yet through original sin—the tasting of the forbidden fruit—there is a danger that they might become too similar to God by attaining the knowledge of Good and Evil (Genesis 3:22). Consequently, Adam and Eve are banished from Eden, becoming mortals and only “poor” reflections of God. As with Platonic philosophy, the distinction between “good” and “bad” semblance is vital because the true, essential, or “original” state is divine, transcendent, and inaccessible. By contrast, the simulacral image, that which does not share in the divine, is censured or even declared evil: Judaism prohibits the production of “graven images” (Exodus 20:4) and lauds their destruction (Daniel, Bel and the Snake, Apocrypha). Later, the Iconoclasts smashed the religious icons (Greek eikon = image) produced by the Eastern Church, seeking to embrace the unrepresentable truth beyond the image.

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