Sciences, Philosophie, Histoire – UMR 7219, laboratoire SPHERE

This axis gathers different researchers studying the history of technologies and techniques in a cultural context, taking into account not only individual practices, material conditions, social and economic structures, but also intellectual and scientific configurations. The term "technique" should be understood in its broadest sense, ranging from technological objects to technical actions and manipulations. The specificity of the axis is more particularly the interdisciplinary study of the interactions between techniques and sciences (including medicine and mathematics). Consequently, we have a particular interest in reasoning techniques, calculation techniques, technical gestures, the material culture of science, machines, and scientific or techno-science instruments.

Members of this axis are likely to explore the following specific themes :

• the circulation of techniques
  between different contexts, including geographical spaces, social and institutional spheres, political contexts and intellectual paradigms. "Technological transfer" is today a hot topic in science policy, stretched between its political and economic dimension ; The critical study of their significance by the history of techniques then seems relevant. A history of techniques, cultural and interdisciplinary, must not be limited to these transfers, since the circulation, diffusion, reception and appropriation of techniques also constitute possible thematic enlargements, posing as Research within the framework of the historiography of techniques. The activities of practitioners (engineers, experimenters, theoreticians, technicians, etc.), rating systems, obstacles of an intellectual and social nature, the materiality of technical objects and natural objects with which they interact, teaching technical and Implicit knowledge are all crucial elements [3].

• The material culture of scientific and technical work and the relationship between material objects and theoretical reasoning remain difficult to grasp. Nevertheless, the materiality of things, their concrete and particular individuality, strongly determine the technical systems and the procedures. Scientific research and technical operations must constantly confront this materiality. Technical actions, abstraction and operational thought can be seen as a mediation between the material object and the thought. Technical gestures, for example, must be very precise and adapted to specific material conditions in order to produce the desired result, from which new theoretical conclusions can then be drawn. Even mathematics, often perceived as a purely "cerebral" discipline, has an interesting material history : while in modern times they were often mixed with technical work (eg, mixed mathematics), mathematics Always relied heavily on rating systems for technical operations. Moreover, since the modern period, mathematical calculation techniques have gradually been integrated into machines, whereas the current practice of mathematics is increasingly dependent on computerized visualization and simulation techniques [4].

• The historiography of techniques
  is currently not well developed. Reflection on the different ways of writing the history of techniques-that is, how to integrate material, social, and intellectual factors-as well as its epistemological consequences will serve as a means of promoting discussion between different Researchers and the various research projects that may fall under this axis. This reflection should also include ideas from anthropology, the epistemology of science and the philosophy of techniques