Simondon’s thought in the Global South

The conference “Simondon’s Thought in the Global South” will be held at the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa, in partnership with the Federal University of Santa Maria, Brazil, on the 7th and 8th of October 2024. This hybrid event, accessible both in person and online, will feature a diverse program, including a keynote lecture, panel discussions, workshops, and the “Quantum Echoes of Humanity” exhibition presented by WITS and LabInter/UFSM. The conference aims to explore Gilbert Simondon’s philosophy, with a particular focus on the specificities of individuation processes in the Global South and their relationships with emerging technologies. This represents a deterritorializing reterritorialization of Simondon’s philosophy, where different historical, cultural, and technological conditions exist. 

Examining the concept of individuation from a Global South perspective necessitates a historical review of philosophical thought. To conceptualise individuation distinctly from substantialism, hylomorphism, and Hegelian idealism, Simondon introduces in his landmark work, Individuation in Light of Notions of Form and Information (1958), a novel concept that serves as the foundation and origin of all individuation. For him, unity and identity, essential for the existence of an individuated being, arise as dynamic consequences of the process of ontogenesis. His critique of traditional metaphysical concepts lays the groundwork for a processual approach to understanding the emergence of beings as individuation. 

Gilbert Simondon constructs a sophisticated theory aimed at overturning traditional ontological notions. Interested in developing a philosophy that transcends disciplinary boundaries, Simondon’s interdisciplinary approach is unified by a unique theory of individuation. He re-conceptualizes individuation as an ongoing, never-ending process in which the individual mediates between two disparate orders of magnitude. Simondon’s worldview is dynamic rather than static, understanding the world in terms of processes rather than fixed principles. Individual beings are viewed as singular phases within the ongoing process of individuation, perpetually open to becoming.

In celebration of the centenary of Gilbert Simondon’s birth, we pose the question: Why is Simondon’s thought relevant in the current context of the Global South? We recognize that Simondon opened new avenues of philosophical inquiry directly applicable to the modern technological world. He plays a crucial role in developing philosophical ideas about technology as the co-constitution of society in a techno-social individuation with the artefacts it develops within its environment. His second doctoral thesis, The Mode of Existence of Technical Objects (1958), addresses many concerns about technological alienation and the construction of technical objects in balance with production processes. 

Simondon’s work provides a new approach that integrates culture, technology, and nature, countering alienated, universal, and hegemonic modern thought. He provides a rich theoretical framework to rethink the relation of the individual and the social as technological mediation. This conference seeks to deepen the understanding of Simondon’s relevance, examining how his ideas can inform contemporary technological and social challenges in the Global South.

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Organisers

Dr Renzo Filinich Orozco (Wits University)

Dr Rene Alicia Smith (Wits University)

Dr Andreia Machado Oliveira (UFSM University/Wits University)

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Organizing Committee

Dr. Felix Rebolledo Palazuelos (UFSM, Brazil)

Dra. Kalinka Lorenci Mallmann (UFSM, Brazil)

Dr. Matheus Moreno dos Santos Camargo (UFSM, Brazil)

Camila dos Santos (UFSM, Brazil)

Jean Oliver Link (UFSM, Brazil)

Thais Oliveira  (UFSM, Brazil)

Lungelolakhe Mthembu-Salter (WITS, SA)

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Venues

Humanities Graduate Centre  – Seminar

1 Jan Smuts Ave.

Braamfontein, Johannesburg, 2000

https://www.wits.ac.za/hgc/

The Origins Centre Wits University  – Exhibition artwork

Yale Road & 1 Enoch Sontonga Ave. 

Braamfontein, Johannesburg, 2000

https://www.wits.ac.za/origins/

Tshimologong Precinct – Workshop

41 Juta St. 

Braamfontein, Johannesburg, 2017

https://tshimologong.joburg/

Language and Arts Center – Federal University of Santa Maria/Brazil – Seminar

Av. Roraima nº 1000, Cidade Universitária, prédio 40, sala 1203, 

Santa Maria – RS, Brazil

https://www.ufsm.br/unidades-universitarias/cal

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