Individuation in Light of Notions of Form and Information

A long-awaited translation on the philosophical relation between technology, the individual, and milieu of the living From Democritus’s atomism to Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle, from Aristotle’s reflections on the individual to Husserl’s call for a focused return to things, from the philosophical advent of the Cartesian ego and the Leibnizian monad to Heidegger’s notion of Dasein, the question concerning the constitution of the individual has continued to loom large over the preoccupations of philosophers and scholars of scientific disciplines for thousands of years. Through conceptions in modern scientific areas of research such as thermodynamics, the fabrication of technical objects, gestalt theory, cybernetics, and the dynamic formation at work in the creation of crystals, Gilbert Simondon’s unique multifaceted philosophical and scholarly research will eventually lead to an astounding reevaluation and questioning of the historical methods for posing the very question and notion of the individual. More than fifty years after its original publication in French, this groundbreaking work of philosophical theory is now available in its first complete English language translation.

A long-awaited translation on the philosophical relation between technology, the individual, and milieu of the living From Democritus’s atomism to Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle, from Aristotle’s reflections on the individual to Husserl’s call for a focused return to things, from the philosophical advent of the Cartesian ego and the Leibnizian monad to Heidegger’s notion of Dasein, the question concerning the constitution of the individual has continued to loom large over the preoccupations of philosophers and scholars of scientific disciplines for thousands of years. Through conceptions in modern scientific areas of research such as thermodynamics, the fabrication of technical objects, gestalt theory, cybernetics, and the dynamic formation at work in the creation of crystals, Gilbert Simondon’s unique multifaceted philosophical and scholarly research will eventually lead to an astounding reevaluation and questioning of the historical methods for posing the very question and notion of the individual. More than fifty years after its original publication in French, this groundbreaking work of philosophical theory is now available in its first complete English language translation.

Unique access to archival material of a major thinker, including presentations, early drafts, and a thorough introduction to the history of the philosophical notion of the individual The second volume of Individuation in Light of Notions of Form and Information presents archival documents detailing both the preliminary research conducted by Gilbert Simondon as well as sketches of early drafts and presentations of his work throughout the intellectual era of his eventual magnum opus. Volume II provides an erudite and important overview of a unique history of both the role the individual has played throughout history in philosophy, religion, and society as well as insight into the contemporary machinations and exciting milieu in which Simondon dared to tread as an interdisciplinary thinker in philosophy and psychology, as well as the new burgeoning fields of computer science and cybernetics. This companion volume provides insight into Simondon’s primary thesis, for which he is renowned by scholars in a wide range of academic disciplines. Readers across the humanities and the sciences, information theory, philosophy of technology, and many other fields now have a vital resource for intellectual exploration into the human’s ongoing relationship with the technological universe.

Unique access to archival material of a major thinker, including presentations, early drafts, and a thorough introduction to the history of the philosophical notion of the individual The second volume of Individuation in Light of Notions of Form and Information presents archival documents detailing both the preliminary research conducted by Gilbert Simondon as well as sketches of early drafts and presentations of his work throughout the intellectual era of his eventual magnum opus. Volume II provides an erudite and important overview of a unique history of both the role the individual has played throughout history in philosophy, religion, and society as well as insight into the contemporary machinations and exciting milieu in which Simondon dared to tread as an interdisciplinary thinker in philosophy and psychology, as well as the new burgeoning fields of computer science and cybernetics. This companion volume provides insight into Simondon’s primary thesis, for which he is renowned by scholars in a wide range of academic disciplines. Readers across the humanities and the sciences, information theory, philosophy of technology, and many other fields now have a vital resource for intellectual exploration into the human’s ongoing relationship with the technological universe.