L'utopie de la communication

Breton, Philippe

doi:10.3917/dec.breto.2004.01

Cited by 97 publications

(13 citation statements)

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“…It has been classified as the archaeology of a specific epistemic domain – whether of the cognitive sciences (Dupuy, 2009), informatics (Breton, 1990) or automata theory and artificial intelligence (Dertouzos & Moses, 1980). It has been more widely conceived as the techno-scientific (Segal, 2003; Triclot, 2008) and cultural (Breton, 1997; Day, 2001) context in which the concepts of, and discourses on, information and communication originated and circulated (Kline, 2015; Sfez, 1992). It has been valorised as an attempt to question anthropological categories and challenge the human/machine dualism (Haraway, 1991; Hayles, 1999).…”

Section: The Cybernetic Order: Progress and Homeostasismentioning

confidence: 99%

Governing progress: From cybernetic homeostasis to Simondon’s politics of metastability

Bardin

Ferrari

2022

The Sociological Review

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In this article we analyse the idea of progress and show that, since its early-modern inception, it has relied on a twofold commitment. On the one hand, it rests on a project of mathematical modelisation of natural and social reality, deterministically conceived. On the other hand, it requires the production of a stable social order capable of implementing that model. This stance, we argue, is still dominant and defines the ‘(hyper-)modern condition’. Following Gilbert Simondon, we take the cybernetic notion of dynamic stability (‘homeostasis’) as paradigmatic of the hyper-modern condition. As we explain, this core notion has covered multiple epistemic domains, including the social sciences, and contributed to reformulate the modern idea of progress within the terms dictated by neoliberal governmentality. The connection we establish between cybernetics and neoliberalism will eventually allow us to use Simondon’s theory against both. In our view, Simondon’s concept of ‘metastability’ supports an alternative understanding of progress based on the ideas of social change and the government of normative invention, which includes the opening of social systems to a future beyond their own preservation.

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Section: The Cybernetic Order: Progress and Homeostasismentioning

confidence: 99%

Governing progress: From cybernetic homeostasis to Simondon’s politics of metastability

Bardin

Ferrari

2022

The Sociological Review

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“…On mobilise également beaucoup la notion d'utopie (Breton, 1992), pour, là encore, se rassurer et se dire que l'utopie a encore sa place dans notre société, que nous ne sommes pas tant que cela dans une société du vide (Barel, 1984). Or, nous sommes bien dans une société du vide : parce que la technique ne produit pas de sens, mais du fonctionnel ; parce que la gestion ne produit pas de sens mais également du fonctionnel (technique et gestion sont d'ailleurs profondément liées) ; parce que la science ne produit pas de sens, mais un savoir démontré et dès lors une forme de vérité indiscutable par le commun des mortels ; parce que l'art ne produit plus de sens mais, dans le meilleur des cas, l'interroge seulement ; parce que la religion elle-même ne produit plus de sens : elle se rejoue en se surjouant dans une forme de vérité radicale.…”

Section: L'imaginaire Des Tic : Utopie Mythe Ou Idéologie ?unclassified

L’imaginaire des TIC en questions

Robert

2017

Interfaces Numériques

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La notion d’imaginaire des TIC, qui connaît un réel succès, doit-elle être prise, sans autre forme d’inventaire, comme un cadre pertinent de compréhension des TIC ou bien doit-elle faire l’objet d’une mise en discussion ? Cet article pose une série de questions à cette notion afin d’en tester la cohérence et l’efficacité intellectuelle. Il montre que la notion (et ses déclinaisons, mythes et utopie notamment), à défaut d’être véritablement convaincante sur le plan intellectuel, remplit une fonction sociale singulière : elle rassure le sociologue (au sens large) quant à sa capacité à porter un discours, fondé sur l’héritage d’anciennes catégories, sur la prolifération de nos techniques. Cette communication indique également qu’il existe des alternatives, peut être mieux adaptées à leur objet, et notamment la notion d’impensé informatique (et des TIC).

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“…As sociologist Philippe Breton (1995) has demonstrated, Wiener elevated entropy to the rank of metaphysical truth. In the wake of the war, it was assimilated to the chaos, disinformation and disorganization that threatened the social order.…”

Section: Wiener's Cybernetic Vision Of the Worldmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Cybernetic Matrix of `French Theory'

Lafontaine¹

2007

Theory, Culture & Society

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This article aims to draw a portrait of the influence of cybernetics on soft science. To this end, structuralism, post-structuralism and postmodern philosophy will be successively analyzed in a perspective based on importing concepts stemming from the cybernetic paradigm (information, feedback, entropy, complexity, etc.). By focusing more specifically on the American postwar context, we intend to remind the audience that many soft science specialists were involved in the elaboration of this ‘new science’. We will then retrace the influence of the cybernetic paradigm on structuralism. Starting with the historic meeting between Roman Jakobson and Claude Lévi-Strauss, we will illustrate that structural phonology is directly inspired by discoveries stemming from the informational model. In the same perspective, the conceptual borrowings of psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan from cybernetics will be identified and analyzed. Then, we will address the matter of the relationship between postmodern theories and the cybernetic paradigm. The philosophical movement towards deconstruction, as well as Deleuze and Guattari’s philosophy, will be analyzed based on how they relate to this paradigm. We will also insist on the fact that the philosophy of Jean- François Lyotard’s La Condition postmoderne is fully in line with the epistemological revolution launched by cybernetics.

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L'utopie de la communication

Cited by 97 publications

References 0 publications

Governing progress: From cybernetic homeostasis to Simondon’s politics of metastability

Governing progress: From cybernetic homeostasis to Simondon’s politics of metastability

L’imaginaire des TIC en questions

The Cybernetic Matrix of `French Theory'

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