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and nature or, as the Greeks would have it, evolution on our planet, namely that
between phúsis and téchnê. of mutual aid. Mutual aid, an instinct
that accounts for survival itself (and
However, has this separation really been that is a new take on Darwin), is just
established by the Greeks and are we not (still, another name for solidarity if it is viewed
always) enthralled by rationalist thinking that from a social (and likewise socialist)
gave a spin to that venerable tradition itself? perspective. Mutual aid is the antithesis
Without going into specifics, let us briefly turn of animosity and the notorious struggle
to Aristotle. Art imitates nature. This saying is for existence, although, as a concept, it
so common that it has almost lost its attribution. has never quite gained ground. Be that
And if Aristotle does come up with this as it may, it turns out that not only have
definition, exploring the nature of mimesis, he humans not lived up to their nature, but
likewise makes another observation: art finishes
that they, the inventors of violence and
Château Cortils off (épitélei) what nature cannot produce. To exploitation, have utterly corrupted the
relationship between téchnê and phúsis.
be absolutely exact, he claims that in certain
Un cadre discret pour ateliers et retraites instances art completes what nature is incapable In other words, it is not humanism that AI
of producing, while in others it imitates nature.
threatens to shatter, but, in fact, it is the latent
It would seem that modern philosophy has alliance between technology and nature that it
completely forgotten (indeed repressed) the first seeks to prolong. Or restore.
part of this dictum. But if we give it a closer look,
Le Château Cortils est un domaine situé dans la campagne wallonne, entre Maastricht et Liège. as the French philosopher Philippe Lacoue- A non-instrumental vision of technology has
Le lieu offre de l’espace, du calme et une certaine distance par rapport aux rythmes quotidiens, Labarthe once strongly suggested, we discover taken full shape in the 20 century, which
th
ce qui le rend adapté à des ateliers, des retraites et des rencontres en petits groupes. that nature and art (in the sense of artifice or any means that technical innovations are no longer
masterful activity) are not as opposed to each seen in terms of a simple extension of human
L’hébergement est réparti dans plusieurs other as one might imagine. Indeed, if nature capacities, as was the case with the telescope or
bâtiments sur le domaine, pour une capacité itself produces (it has the capacity to fabricate or the microscope, which enhanced human vision.
th
totale d’environ 65 personnes. to make), this already points to the fact that there Already in the 19 century the human and
Des espaces communs avec cuisines sont is something in nature that makes art possible. the machine form a much more complicated
disponibles, ainsi que des salles pouvant être Of course, what is implied is a lack that has to ensemble, where the human is as much part of
utilisées pour des ateliers, des réunions ou des be filled in, and all our technical discoveries, in the machine as the latter is of its human operator
fact the whole of culture, can be seen precisely in
(the conveyor belt being a perfect example).
temps de retraite. terms of overcoming or filling this lack. Humans According to the French thinker Gilbert
are beings marked by an inherent “handicap,” Simondon, humans and technology constitute a
Le domaine s’étend sur environ 76 hectares, and even language is just a way of overcoming network of evolving mutual relations: technical
comprenant des zones boisées, des espaces one’s separation from nature. But on the other objects serve as mediators between humans and
ouverts et un parc paysager avec roseraie et étang hand, if nature produces (and it does have its own nature, while humans, in their turn, mediate
naturel. Le site se prête à la marche, à la réflexion poí sis), it means that art, in its turn, becomes a between insensate machines. It is remarkable
et à un usage extérieur informel. Un court de way of comprehending nature. In other words, that such thoughts have been formulated
tennis et un terrain de pétanque sont présents sur it becomes an intellectual tool, throwing light well before the invention of AI. And it is also
le domaine. upon its own unapparent beginnings. instructive. Today AI as an indiscriminate
absorber of data is criticized for the suppression
Le Château Cortils convient particulièrement How is this helpful in terms of AI? First of of the singular in favor of the average or the
à des groupes recherchant un environnement all, this reading allows us to remove the sad banal. It is rightly observed that IT giants
non commercial, où le cadre soutient la divide between nature and technology. Or, and other big corporations are beginning to
concentration, l’échange et la prise de distance. which amounts to saying the same thing, it exploit this invention to the greatest possible
allows us to see the organic underpinnings of degree. However, market consumption and/or
technology. This means that technology and manipulation is not a characteristic proper to
nature form a continuum of sorts, something AI. Rather, we are again dealing here with that
Pour plus d’informations : that was well known to Peter Kropotkin, the intrusion that destabilizes the fine line between
Chemin de Cortils 1, 4670 Blegny (BE) famous Russian scientist and revolutionary. nature and technology, between phúsis and
info@chateaucortils.com He insisted on a scientific method that studied téchnê. Perhaps, in some way it may even be
Vera: +32 468 38 91 05 social institutions along the lines of “natural- inevitable. Still, the potential of technology, AI
scientific investigations,” but, most importantly, included, remains to be further appreciated and
he formulated a law governing the whole of explored.
Un cadre permettant le recul, l’échange et le temps de réflexion.
w w w. d i va i n t e r n at i o n a l . c h
www.chateaucortils.com