Discerning Relational Data in Breath Patterns. Gilbert Simondon’s Philosophy in the Context of Sequence Transduction

Abstract

This article discusses Gilbert Simondon’s philosophies of the technical object, information, and individuation to frame the potential inherent in a practical application of his notions of intensity, amplification, and transduction of relational processes, which have been largely neglected in the traditions of substantialist and hylomorphic thought. Specifically, the study introduces a method to discern relational information by amplifying audible breath patterns of a collective via a wearable digital stethoscope (WDS). The non-lexical modality of the breath grants insights into non-verbal phases of communication during which multiple points of view may exist simultaneously. These points of view can be understood as a subject’s sense of orientation within phases prior to signification, i.e., before affect becomes a specific emotion and before perception becomes a concrete action—using the terms as they are defined by Simondon. Bodily movement is audible within the breath and can be further transcribed into preliminary signs with the help of a sequence transduction machine learning (ML) model. Discerning semiosis within audible breath patterns exemplifies a logic of computation which is not concerned with quantitative and qualitative information but, instead, computes intense data to grasp relational dynamics.