Dewey and Simondon

the investigative act in biological and psychic individuations

Abstract

Our goal, in this article, is to propose an articulation between Gilbert Simondon’s theory of individuation and John Dewey’s theory of investigation. In relation to the first, the “biological” and “psychic” aspects of individuation will be emphasized; as for the second, we will emphasize its main naturalist and epistemological elements, as well as Dewey’s more general concepts of “experience” and “nature”. We will argue that the individuation process is closely related to the ability, possessed by every living individual, to solve problems resulting from their constant interaction with the environment. We will propose, more precisely, a theoretical connection between the principle or concept of individuation and the idea that there is in the living organism an investigative aptitude that not only restores its “metastable” equilibrium, but also, and at the same time, always gives him a new individuality, both biological and psychic. We hope to obtain, as a result of this process of synthesis involving the ideas of Simondon and Dewey, an expanded understanding of the respective theories of individuation and inquiry.