Kant and Simondon on hylomorphism and individuation

A discussion about realism, idealism, matter, and information

Abstract

In this paper, we offer a reading of Kant's schematism and Simondon's theory of individuation to draw some crucial parallelisms. The main aim is to show how both confront the hylomorphic scheme, the former within a theory of knowledge and the latter in the context of a philosophy of nature. It will be shown, however, that Kant's philosophy is not purely subjective. Not only did he strive for an empirical realism, but in some critical sections of the Critique of Pure Reason, he already offers arguments for investigating the form and limits of our relationship to the real world. At the same time, Simondon will be read as a philosopher of nature who incorporates the intelligible into things through the notion of information. The key parallel is that they use the hylomorphic model to explain processes of unification/individuation while simultaneously showing its limitations. This lies in the heterogeneity of form and matter and the impossibility of imposing the former on the latter without further mediation. You will have to attribute matter to some form and some materiality to form. This will lead to the creation of a third space, a synthesis or result of the coincidence of different levels of organisation. It will be concluded that the complementary readings of Kant and Simondon offer a natural realism compatible with transcendental philosophy's main requirements.