Course readings:

Feenberg, Andrew: Technosystem: The Social Life of Reason, Cambridge MA: Harvard University Press, ch. 3, pp. 66-85.

Heidegger, Martin: „Die Frage nach der Technik“ (1953), in Gesamtausgabe Bd. 7, Frankfurt a.M.: Vittorio Klostermann, 2000, pp. 6-36.

Mills, Simon: “Simondon and Big Data”, Platform: Journal of Media and Communication, Vol. 6 (2015), pp. 59-72.

Simondon, Gilbert: On the Mode of Existence of Technical Objects, Minneapolis: Univocal Publishing, 2017.

Stiegler, Bernard: “The Theatre of Individuation: Phase-Shift and Resolution in Simondon and Heidegger”, Parrhesia, Vol. 7 (2009), pp. 46-57.

For the successful completion of the course, regular attendance and some contribution in class, either oral or written, are required.

In his 1958 doctoral thesis On the Mode of Existence of Technical Objects, the French philosopher Gilbert Simondon investigates the intrinsic structure and evolution of technical objects (engines, electron tubes, computers), as well as the human's relation with its continually changing technical environment. While traditionally the emphasis in philosophy has been on the alienating aspects of technical objects and their destructive potential, Simondon sheds light on the open assemblage between man, machine and nature, as well as their mutually constitutive function.

We will be closely reading Simondon's book and also look at his influence on contemporary thinkers in the field of philosophy of technology (such as Andrew Feenberg, Simon Mills, and Bernard Stiegler).

The seminar will be held in English.