Gilbert Simondon’s genetic “mecanology”and the understanding of laws of technical evolution

Techné: Research in Philosophy and Technology 13 (1):1-12 (2009)
  Copy   BIBTEX

Abstract

Since the 1930’s, several attempts have been made to develop a general theory of technical systems or objects and their evolution: in France, Jacques Lafitte, André Leroi-Gourhan, Bertrand Gille, Yves Deforge, and Gilbert Simondon are the main representatives of this trend. In this paper, we focus on the work of Simondon: his analysis of technical progress is based on the hypothesis that technology has its own laws and that customer demand has no paramount influence upon the evolution of technical systems. We first describe the process Simondon called “concretization” and compare it with the process of “idealization” as defined by Genrich Altshuller. We then explain how the progress of technical lineages can be characterized as following a specific rhythm of relaxation and how it thus obeys a “law” of evolution in the industrial context. Simondon’s theoretical approach, although similar to some aspects of methodologies of conception, emphasized a more accurate understanding of technical progress over possible operational applications. Simondon never intended to optimize the engineer’s tasks from an economic point of view and, in fact, his conception of technical progress can be considered as independent from the capitalistic trend of innovation. However, the philosophy of Simondon provides a better understanding of what is at stake theoretically in the modeling of laws of technical evolution.

Links

PhilArchive



    Upload a copy of this work     Papers currently archived: 90,221

External links

Setup an account with your affiliations in order to access resources via your University's proxy server

Through your library

Similar books and articles

Gilbert simondon's plea for a philosophy of technology.Paul Dumouchel - 1992 - Inquiry: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Philosophy 35 (3-4):407 – 421.
On the Mode of Existence of Technical Objects.Gilbert Simondon - 2011 - Deleuze and Guatarri Studies 5 (3):407-424.
Gilbert Simondon and the Dual Nature of Technical Artifacts.Marc J. De Vries - 2008 - Techné: Research in Philosophy and Technology 12 (1):23-35.
Técnica y cultura.Miguel Quintanilla - 1998 - Teorema: International Journal of Philosophy 17 (3):49-69.
Gilbert Simondon: being and technology.Arne De Boever (ed.) - 2012 - Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
Problematising the technological: The object as event?Adrian Mackenzie - 2005 - Social Epistemology 19 (4):381 – 399.
Historie de la Notion d’Individu.Gilbert Simondon - 2005 - Chiasmi International 7:45-54.
Technics and time.Bernard Stiegler - 1998 - Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press.
Subversive rationalization: Technology, power, and democracy.Andrew Feenberg - 1992 - Inquiry: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Philosophy 35 (3-4):301 – 322.
Are luddites confused?Dan Lyons - 1979 - Inquiry: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Philosophy 22 (1-4):381 – 403.

Analytics

Added to PP
2011-01-09

Downloads
68 (#216,378)

6 months
2 (#658,980)

Historical graph of downloads
How can I increase my downloads?

Author's Profile

Vincent Bontems
École Normale Supérieure

Citations of this work

No citations found.

Add more citations

References found in this work

No references found.

Add more references