Technical activity as a symbolic form comparing money and language

Jean Lassègue

pp. 139-160

in: Aud Sissel Hoel, Ingvild Folkvord (eds), Ernst Cassirer on form and technology, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan, 2012

Abstract

My aim in this article is to discuss Ernst Cassirer's conception of technical activity in relation with the notion of a symbolic form. The questions I shall raise are: in what sense is technical activity a symbolic form? What kind of relationship does technical activity entertain with other forms and in particular with language? And what does this relationship teach us about technical activity today? After trying to answer these questions in a theoretical way, I shall use the comparison between money (interpreted as a technology) and language (interpreted as the paradigmatic symbolic form) as a case study.

Cited authors

Cassirer Ernst