This event explores the concept of information in the work of the post-war French philosopher Gilbert Simondon (1924-1989). Today, Simondon is best remembered for his holistic account of technological objects and their perceptual-cognitive role in the evolution of human beings and social systems. However, his project also aimed at providing a unified foundation for the human sciences - one that would be compatible with, but not reducible to, the natural sciences. To achieve this, he developed an ontological perspective foregrounding notions of information and individuation adapted from the then-emerging fields of cybernetics and information theory, as well as psychology, biology, and quantum physics, while also building on more traditional philosophical approaches such as phenomenology. The symposium will examine these intellectual sources and contexts, and discuss the wider legacy of Simondon’s concept of information for contemporary thinking across the humanities. 

The event is sponsored by the Faculty of Arts & Humanities, the Department of French, and the Centre for Digital Culture at King’s College London.

For more information or if you would like to attend, please contact Giovanni Menegalle at giovanni.menegalle@kcl.ac.uk.