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Abstract
This article explores the evolving concept of organology, tracing its philosophical journey from Aristotle’s foundational ideas through Bernard Stiegler’s general organology and Yuk Hui’s cosmotechnics, culminating in Christophe Rigon’s scybernethic critique of scientific “anthropo-functionalism.” By examining how each thinker redefines the relationship between biological, technical, and social organs, the article highlights the importance of critical reflection on the metaphors and models that shape our understanding of technics, cognition, and society.
Introduction
The notion of organology—the study of organs, both biological and technical—has undergone profound transformation since its origins in ancient philosophy. What began as an inquiry into the organization of life has become a complex field examining the interplay between humans, technology, and society. This article synthesizes key contributions from Aristotle, Bernard Stiegler, Yuk Hui, and Christophe Rigon, showing how each thinker expands and challenges the organological tradition.
Aristotle: The Biological Foundations of Organology
- Organon as Instrument: Aristotle’s use of the term organon refers to both tools and bodily organs. For him, organs are the functional parts that enable life and cognition.
- Soul and Organization: He distinguishes types of souls—vegetative, sensitive, and rational—each realized through the organization and function of specific organs.
- Philosophical Legacy: Aristotle’s approach grounds organology in biology and philosophy, emphasizing the instrumental role of organs in the realization of life and thought.
Bernard Stiegler: General Organology and the Technics of Life
- General Organology: Stiegler expands organology to analyze the co-evolution of biological organs, technical organs (tools, machines), and social organizations.
- Exosomatic Organogenesis: He introduces the distinction between endosomatic (internal, biological) and exosomatic (external, technical) organs, arguing that human evolution is marked by the externalization of faculties into technical artifacts.
- Technics and Epiphylogenesis: For Stiegler, technics is not merely a collection of tools but a constitutive element of human existence. Through “epiphylogenesis,” humans store memory and knowledge outside their bodies, transforming life and thought.
- Neganthropology: Stiegler’s later work focuses on how organology can help counteract the entropic effects of technology, advocating for new forms of care and governance.
Yuk Hui: Neo-Organology and Cosmotechnics
- Digital Recursivity: Hui builds on Stiegler, exploring how contemporary technical systems mimic organic processes, emphasizing recursivity and contingency.
- Cosmotechnics: He introduces the concept of cosmotechnics, arguing for a pluralistic approach to technology that acknowledges multiple ways of relating technical systems to life, culture, and the cosmos.
- Beyond Anthropocentrism: Hui’s organology seeks to rethink the relationship between technology and life, advocating for new forms of individuation and collective existence in the digital and planetary era.
Christophe Rigon: Scybernethics and the De-Constructive Critique of Anthropo-Functionalism
- Scybernethics Defined: Rigon’s scybernethics draws on second-order cybernetics, enaction, and techno-hermeneutics to emphasize the recursive, participatory, and embodied nature of cognition.
- Critique of Anthropo-Functionalism: Rigon challenges the reduction of technical systems to human-centered functions, warning against literal interpretations of metaphors like “the brain as a computer.”
- Second-Order Rationality: He advocates for a recursive logic that reflects not just on concepts but on the process of conceptualization itself, exposing the limitations of anthropo-functionalism.
- Ethical Vigilance: Rigon insists on maintaining the distinction between organic and technical, emphasizing the ethical risks of conflating the two and urging critical reflection on the metaphors that shape scientific and technological discourse.
Comparative Table: Organology Across Thinkers
| Thinker | Focus of Organology | Key Concepts | Approach to Technics/Metaphor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aristotle | Biological organs as instruments for life and cognition | Organon, soul, biological organization | Grounded in biology and philosophy |
| Bernard Stiegler | Co-evolution of biological, technical, and social organs | General organology, exosomatic organogenesis, technics, neganthropology | Technics as constitutive and transformative |
| Yuk Hui | Technical systems as organic, planetary, pluralistic | Recursivity, contingency, cosmotechnics, neo-organology | Pluralistic, cosmotechnical, recursive |
| Christophe Rigon | Recursive, enactive, scybernethic logic | Scybernethics, critique of anthropo-functionalism | Critical of reductionist, metaphorical analogies |
Conclusion
The evolution of organology reflects an ongoing philosophical effort to understand the relationship between life, technology, and society. From Aristotle’s biological foundations to Stiegler’s analysis of technics and Hui’s cosmotechnical pluralism, the field has grown increasingly attentive to the complex co-evolution of organic and technical systems. Christophe Rigon’s scybernethic critique adds a vital layer, urging vigilance against the uncritical adoption of metaphors and models that risk conflating the organic with the technical. Together, these thinkers invite us to reflect not only on the tools and systems we create but also on the conceptual frameworks that shape our understanding of what it means to live, think, and act in a technological world.
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