Two ways of thinking about the process of individuation (natural science and hybrid in the research of Gilbert Simondon and methodological in the author’s works)

Abstract

Two approaches to understanding the process of individuation, those of Gilbert Simondon and the author of the article, are compared. The concept of pre-individuation is problema­tized. Four characteristics of Simondon’s methodology are highlighted: the requirement for the genesis of individuation, criticism of the categories of form and matter, the use of tech­nology cases as examples of the process of formation of individuals, the interpretation of the individuation process within the framework of the natural science approach. Imple­menting the principles of this methodology, Simondon tries to show that individuation is a singular process, it is precisely a process, and not its result, and only the latter falls under the logic of “hylomorphism”. The author defines Simondon’s discourse as hybrid; he be­lieves that the configuration of philosophical, systemic and natural science approaches by Simondon is not thought out. The author believes that it is impossible to immediately build a doctrine of individuation without analyzing specific cases of individuation, of which there are quite a lot. Two cases of the author are considered. Analysis of the first allows us to con­clude that individuation as a process unfolds in a broader whole, starting with a problem sit­uation; involves an act of creativity and realization of personality, a kind of leap from per­sonal problems to a new reality through the invention of a semiotic scheme; This is the process of constructing a new object with its simultaneous inclusion in a person’s life world, a process accompanied by conceptualization. In addition to these features, the analy­sis of the second case allowed us to identify a number of characteristics. The author believes that as new cases are analyzed and reconstructed, on the one hand, the general characteris­tics of the individuation process will be repeated with a gradual expansion, and on the other hand, new characteristics will be added each time. Having accumulated an analysis of diffe­rent cases, it will be possible to begin to build a doctrine of individuation that is open to un­derstanding new cases and criticism.