February 28, 2025
10:00 am EST
attend virtually: LIVESTREAM LINK
This is a collaborative talk by Dr. Lorena Rojas-Parma, followed by a response from Dr. David Tabachnick. Join us online!
Talk Title: A Poietic and Intelligent Cosmos: Rethinking Existence and Technology
This reflection proposes a reexamination of existence from a “poietic” and intelligent perspective. Contemporary ontologies, recognizing the interconnectedness of the cosmos, increasingly favor a dynamic, intelligent, and vital unity capable of self-regulation, self-generation, and horizontal interaction. I prefer to employ the term “poietic” to describe this condition of the cosmos, eschewing the prefixes ―auto or syn― for the time being. This discussion will delve deeper into the classical meanings of “creation,” drawing inspiration from Plato’s Symposium where Diotima asserts that poiesis is “something multiple” (ti poly), emphasizing its connection to possibilities, diversity, and plurality. Any “cause” (aitia) that enables the transition “from non-being to being” is considered creation, including the technai. As Lledó affirms, “Poiesis is creation, but in its most radical and profound sense, that of the total position of an entity in existence.” I interpret poiesis as an ontological concept, constituting the active existence that is its own creation. Overcoming dualisms and revisiting the posthumanist conception of “life,” I propose that technology is not merely an extension of humanity or an expression of existence but rather an intrinsic aspect of the very “poietic” condition of existence itself. If life, creativity, and intelligence are inherent in existence, then technology, as its creative and expressive know-how, is also inherent. This challenges the anthropocentric view, asserting that technology is not exclusively a human construct but belongs to the cosmos. Its formation of planets, meteorites, galaxies, oceans, pollen, flowers, viruses, salamanders, or humans involves highly complex processes that are inherently technological. The nature/technology dualism has hindered our understanding of cosmic complexity and creativity as technological. Bocquillon and Maeterlinck have already highlighted how sophisticated systems like the Utricularia genus have been utilizing Archimedes’ principles for millennia. It is imperative to reframe technology not as a continuum with nature but as the very expression of existence itself, as its knowledge of how to become “poietic”, intelligent, vital, self-regulating, and thus technological.
Presenter’s Bio
Lorena Rojas-Parma. Ph.D. in Philosophy. Director of the Center for Research and Humanistic Formation of the Universidad Católica Andrés Bello, in Caracas. Undergraduate and graduate professor of Greek Philosophy, Contemporary Hermeneutics and Posthumanism. Coordinator of Philosophy Studies at UCAB; Coordinator of the specialty in Greek philosophy and member of the research group “Maya: digital culture and contemporary aesthetics”. Currently Director of the Doctoral and Master’s program in Philosophy. Author of several articles in specialized journals in Spain, Italy and Mexico. Her latest publications: “We have defeated oblivion: on digital immortality” (2021); “Next: imagining the postpresent” (2021); “Platonic Wanderings” (2022), and “Cyborg Philosophy” (2023).
Respondent’s Bio
David Edward Tabachnick is Professor of Political Science at Nipissing University. His research focuses on linking ancient political thought to contemporary ethics and politics. He is the author of The Great Reversal: How We Let Technology Take Control of the Planet (University of Toronto Press, 2013) and a founding editor of The Ancient Lessons for Global Politics book series. His newest book The Leisure Ethic: The End of Work and the Return to Virtue is with the University of Toronto Press.
