Abstract
This essay provides an overview of some of the ideas concerning temporality that underpin Guy Debord’s The Society of the Spectacle. It does so by foregrounding the connections between Debord’s conception of temporality, his book’s central concept of “spectacle”, and his commitment to revolutionary social change, placing particular emphasis on the latter. The first part of the essay introduces the importance of time and history in the theory of spectacle, and argues against a restrictive focus on the connections between spectacle and modern capitalism. The essay’s subsequent sections discuss some of the primary features of Debord’s understanding of history, and its relation to his conception of revolution. This involves a brief account of the ontology that underpins his ideas concerning temporality, and a short overview of the philosophy of history that can be found in The Society of the Spectacle.
| Translated title of the contribution | History and Revolution in Guy Debord's The Society of the Spectacle |
|---|---|
| Original language | French |
| Pages (from-to) | 91-118 |
| Number of pages | 27 |
| Journal | Revue Francaise d'Histoire des Idées Politiques |
| Volume | 55 |
| Publication status | Published - 2022 |