Simondon's technical culture and a politics of problems

Abstract

There is a timeliness to Gilbert Simondon’s call in On the Mode of Existence of Technical Objects (1958) for a technical culture that fosters a ”genuine awareness of technical realities.” Writing in the context of mid-20th century France, Simondon worried about a lack of technological understanding and envisaged a technical culture in which technological education would be considered as essential as literacy to meaningful participation in society. Sixty years on, the need for widespread technological awareness is greater than ever. The aim of this article is to clarify and support this claim by examining it through the lens of a politics of problems that can be found in Deleuze’s Difference and Repetition (1968).