Gilbert Simondon - Citizendia

Western Philosophy 20th-century philosophy
Name	Gilbert Simondon
Birth	October 2, 1924
Death	February 7, 1989
School/tradition	Continental philosophy
Main interests	Technology
Notable ideas	Individuation
Influenced	Deleuze, Stiegler

Gilbert Simondon (October 2, 1924 – February 7, 1989) was a French philosopher best known for his theory of individuation and his interest in technology. Western philosophy is a term that refers to philosophical thinking in the Western or Occidental world, as distinct from Eastern or Oriental philosophies See also [[Analytic philosophy]] and [[Continental philosophy]] The 20th century brought with it upheavals that produced a series of conflicting developments within Philosophy Events 1187 - Siege of Jerusalem: Saladin captures Jerusalem after 88 years of Crusader rule Year 1924 ( MCMXXIV) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 457 - Leo I becomes emperor of the Byzantine Empire. 1074 - Battle of Montesarchio in which the Prince Year 1989 ( MCMLXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link displays 1989 Gregorian calendar) Continental philosophy, in contemporary usage refers to a set of traditions of 19th and 20th century philosophy from mainland Europe Technology is a broad concept that deals with a Species ' usage and knowledge of Tools and Crafts and how it affects a species' ability to control and adapt Individuation (Latin principium individuationis) is a concept which appears in numerous fields and may be encountered in work by Gilbert Simondon, Bernard Stiegler Gilles Deleuze ( (January 18 1925 &ndash November 4 1995 was a French philosopher of the late 20th century Bernard Stiegler (born April 1, 1952) is a French Philosopher and Director of the Department of Cultural Development at the Centre Events 1187 - Siege of Jerusalem: Saladin captures Jerusalem after 88 years of Crusader rule Year 1924 ( MCMXXIV) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 457 - Leo I becomes emperor of the Byzantine Empire. 1074 - Battle of Montesarchio in which the Prince Year 1989 ( MCMLXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link displays 1989 Gregorian calendar) This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Philosophy is the study of general problems concerning matters such as existence knowledge truth beauty justice validity mind and language Individuation (Latin principium individuationis) is a concept which appears in numerous fields and may be encountered in work by Gilbert Simondon, Bernard Stiegler Technology is a broad concept that deals with a Species ' usage and knowledge of Tools and Crafts and how it affects a species' ability to control and adapt

1 Career
2 Individuation and technology
3 Influence
4 References
5 Bibliography
- 5.1 Primary literature
- 5.2 Secondary literature
6 External links
- 6.1 Online translations
- 6.2 Other links

Career

Born in Saint-Étienne, Simondon was a student of philosopher of science Georges Canguilhem, Martial Guéroult, and phenomenologist Maurice Merleau-Ponty. Saint-Étienne ( Sant-Etiève in Arpitan) is a city in the central eastern part of France, 60 km (40 miles southwest of Lyon. Georges Canguilhem ( Castelnaudary, June 4, 1904 &ndash September 11, 1995 in Marly-le-Roi) was a French Martial Guéroult ( Le Havre, 15 December 1891 - Paris, 13 August 1976 was a French Philosopher and Historian of philosophy, specialized Maurice Merleau-Ponty (mɔʁis mɛʁlopɔ̃ti in French March 14, 1908 – May 3, 1961) was a French phenomenological He studied at the Ecole Normale Supérieure and the Sorbonne. École Normale de Musique de ParisThe École normale supérieure (also known as Normale Sup’, Normale, ENS, ENS-Paris, ENS-Ulm or His major works are Du mode d'existence des objets techniques and L'individuation psychique et collective, which was also his thesis.

Individuation and technology

In L'individuation psychique et collective, Simondon developed a theory of individual and collective individuation, in which the individual subject is considered as an effect of individuation, rather than as a cause. Individuation (Latin principium individuationis) is a concept which appears in numerous fields and may be encountered in work by Gilbert Simondon, Bernard Stiegler Not to be confused with the subiectum or Hypokeimenon in Aristotelianism Thus the individual atom is replaced by the neverending process of individuation. Simondon also conceived of "pre-individual fields" as the funds making individuation itself possible. Individuation is an always incomplete process, always leaving a "pre-individual" left-over, itself making possible future individuations. Furthermore, individuation always creates both an individual and a collective subject, which individuate themselves together.

Gilbert Simondon criticized Norbert Wiener's theory of cybernetics, arguing that, "Right from the start, Cybernetics has accepted what all theory of technology must refuse: a classification of technological objects conducted by means of established criteria and following genera and species. Norbert Wiener ( November 26, 1894, Columbia Missouri – March 18, 1964, Stockholm, Sweden) was an American Cybernetics is the interdisciplinary study of the Structure of Complex systems especially Communication processes control mechanisms and Feedback " Simondon aimed to overcome the shortcomings of cybernetics by developing a "general phenomenology" of machines.

Influence

Simondon's theory of individuation through transduction in a metastable environment was an important influence on the thought of Gilles Deleuze. Individuation (Latin principium individuationis) is a concept which appears in numerous fields and may be encountered in work by Gilbert Simondon, Bernard Stiegler Metastability is a general scientific concept which describes states of delicate equilibrium Gilles Deleuze ( (January 18 1925 &ndash November 4 1995 was a French philosopher of the late 20th century Simondon's work has also been adopted by Bernard Stiegler, who places the theory of individuation at the very heart of his philosophical project. Bernard Stiegler (born April 1, 1952) is a French Philosopher and Director of the Department of Cultural Development at the Centre Stiegler nevertheless argues that, paradoxically, Simondon failed to think the constitutive role that technical individuation plays in psychic and collective individuation. ^[1]

References

^ "What links the I with the we in this individuation is a preindividual milieu, which has positive conditions of effectivity, related to what I have called the retentional apparatuses. These retentional apparatuses are supported by the technical milieu, which is the condition of the meeting of the I and the we: the individuation of I and of we is equally in a sense the individuation of a technical system (this is what Simondon, strangely, didn’t see). " Stiegler, De la misère symbolique 1. L'époque hyperindustrielle (Paris: Galilée, 2004), p. 106.

Bibliography

Primary literature

Du mode d'existence des objets techniques (Méot, 1958; second ed. Paris: Aubier, 1989).
L'individu et sa genèse physico-biologique (l'individuation à la lumière des notions de forme et d'information) (Paris: PUF, 1964; second ed. University Presses of France ( French: Presses Universitaires de France or PUF) are the largest French university J. Millon, coll. Krisis, 1995).
L'individuation psychique et collective (Paris: Aubier, 1989; thesis).

Published 2005–2006

L’Invention dans les techniques, Cours et conferences (Éd. du Seuil, coll. "Traces écrites").
L’Individuation à la lumière des notions de forme et d’information (Jérôme Millon, coll. Krisis).
Cours sur la perception (1964-1965), Préface de Renaud Barbaras (La Tansparence).

English translations

"The Genesis of the Individual," in Jonathan Crary & Sanford Kwinter (eds. ), Incorporations (New York: Zone Books, 1992): 297–319.
"Technical Individualization," in Joke Brouwer & Arjen Mulder (eds. ), Interact or Die! (Rotterdam: NAi, 2007).

Secondary literature

Barthélémy, Jean-Hugues, Penser l'individuation. Simondon et la philosophie de la nature (Paris: L'Harmattan, 2005). (French).
Barthélémy, Jean-Hugues, Penser la connaissance et la technique après Simondon (Paris: L'Harmattan, 2005). (French).
Deleuze, Gilles, "On Gilbert Simondon," in Desert Islands and Other Texts, 1953–1974 (Los Angeles & New York: Semiotext(e), 2004): 86–9. Gilles Deleuze ( (January 18 1925 &ndash November 4 1995 was a French philosopher of the late 20th century ISBN 1-58435-018-0
During, Elie, Simondon au pied du mur. (French).
Hottois, Gilbert, Simondon et la philosophie de la culture technique (Brussels: De Boeck, 1992). Gilbert Hottois is a Belgian professor of Philosophy at the Free University of Brussels who specialises in Bioethics. (French).
Mackenzie, Adrian, Transductions: Bodies and Machines at Speed (Continuum Press, 2002). ISBN 0-8264-5883-1
Stiegler, Bernard, Nanomutations, Hypomnemata, and Grammatisation.
Stiegler, Bernard, Technics and Time, 1: The Fault of Epimetheus (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1998). Bernard Stiegler (born April 1, 1952) is a French Philosopher and Director of the Department of Cultural Development at the Centre Technics and Time 1 The Fault of Epimetheus ( French: La technique et le temps 1 La faute d'Épiméthée) is a book by the French philosopher
Stiegler, Bernard, Temps et individuation technique, psychique, et collective dans l’oeuvre de Simondon. (French).
Toscano, Alberto, "Technical Culture and the Limits of Interaction: A Note on Simondon," in Joke Brouwer & Arjen Mulder (eds. ), Interact or Die! (Rotterdam: NAi, 2007): 198-205.
Revue philosophique, Gilbert Simondon, n°3/2006, (Paris: P. U. F. , 2006). (French).

External links

Online translations

On the Mode of Existence of Technical Objects, Part 1, link to PDF file of 1980 translation.
The Individual and Its Physico-Biological Genesis, Part 1, link to HTML file of unpublished 2007 translation.
The Individual and Its Physico-Biological Genesis, Part 2, link to HTML file of unpublished 2007 translation.

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