Synopses & Reviews
The last two decades have seen a massive increase in the scholarly interest in technology, and have provoked new lines of thought in philosophy, sociology and cultural studies. New disciplines such as cyber-culture studies and Informatics have been sprung up, and the ideas of Simondon are central to these debates.
Organized into three parts, the first provides introductory material on Simondon, and positions him a philosopher of technology. The second part describes Simondon's theory of individuation, including his crystalline ontology, and the third offers a bridge between these two concerns, and explores how they are related.
Simondon is an essential reference point for anyone seeking to understand the shape of contemporary thinking in relation to the most pressing issues of our time - technology, nature and the future of humanity.
Synopsis
Simondon: An Introduction opens up the work of the influential French philosopher, Gilbert Simondon to an English-speaking audience for the first time, providing an accessible guide to students and scholars seeking a way in to Simondon's important but difficult work.
Synopsis
The last two decades have seen a massive increase in the scholarly interest in technology, and have provoked new lines of thought in philosophy, sociology and cultural studies. Gilbert Simondon (1924 - 1989) was one of Frances's most influential philosophers in this field, and an important influence on the work of Gilles Deleuze and Bernard Stiegler. His work is only now being translated into English. Chabot's introduction to Simondon's work was published in French in 2002 and is now available in English for the first time. It is the most accessible guide to Simondon's important but often opaque work. Chabot provides an excellent introduction to Simondon, positioning him as a philosopher of technology, and he describes his theory of individuation including his crystalline ontology. He goes on to offer a bridge between these two concerns, exploring how they are related.
About the Author
Pascal Chabot has a doctorate in philosophy from the Free University of Brussels. He is a researcher at the Belgian Fund for Scientific Research.
Graeme Kirkpatrick is Senior Lecturer in Sociology at the University of Manchester, UK. He is the author of Critical Technology (2004) which won the 2005 Philip Abrams Memorial Prize from the British Sociological Association; Technology and Social Power (2008) and the co-editor of Historical Materialism and Social Evolution (2002).
Table of Contents
Part One: Philosophy of Technology:
1.Objects;
2. The Encyclopaedic Character of Technique;
3. Marx and Simondon on Alienation
4. Cybernetics
Part Two: Individuation: an Essay; Part Three: Bridges:
1: Simondon and Depth Psychology
2. An Ideal World
3. Three Philosophies and The Matrix
Index