Andrés Vaccari

Vida, Técnica y Naturaleza en el Pensamiento de Gilbert Simondon

Revista Iberoamericana de Ciencia, Tecnología y Sociedad, Vol. 5, #14 (April 2010).

This work examines the relation between the natural and the artificial, and between living and technics, in the philosophy of Gilbert Simondon. One of the strong points of Simondon’s thought is that he approaches technology from the perspective of a general theory of the living and of the human qua living. Nevertheless, there are certain recent issues that the Simondonian perspective cannot effectively engage with, such as the techno-genesis of the human and the problem of biotechnics. This article aims to examine these problems, approaching Siomondon’s philosophy of technology from the perspective of his philosophy of individuation. So far, all those scholars who have commented on Simondon’s theories about technology have concentrated exclusively on The Mode of Existence of Technical Objects. However, I hope to show that the Simondonian philosophy of artifacts must be read in the context of his philosophy of the living. This means that The Mode of Existence of Technical Objects must be examined in conjunction with his magnum opus, Individuation in the Light of the Notions of Form and of Information, as a continuous argument. In this manner, certain problems emerge: in particular, a certain framework that approaches the problems of the human, living and technics from the perspective of already constituted individuals. In the course of this examination, I also hope to show the strengths and uniqueness of Simondon’s approach, and its importance to a future philosophy of technology that encompasses the living as a joint object of enquiry.

Paper (in Spanish) accessible here