Through and Beyond the Transindividual

Abstract

The article develops the different meanings of the Simondonian idea of the transindividual, reconstructs the different interpretations that have been made about it, and considers its potentiality to think contemporary phenomena. For this, first, it points out the uses of the term transindividual before Simondon’s conceptualization of it. Second, it analyzes the definitions of the concept that appear in his doctoral theses of 1958 and distinguishes his different senses (ontogenetic, metaphysical, ethical, technical, etc.). Third, it reconstructs the contemporary debate about the transindividual and defines three moments (1989–1998, 1999–2005, and 2005–2015). Finally, it concludes by reflecting on the philosophical and epistemological potentiality of the idea of the transindividual to think about complex processes marked by the association of technological, psychosocial, and ethical-political dimensions.