La tecnica come fenomeno biologico. Genesi e sviluppo di una questione epistemologica nelle scienze umane

This paper aims to discuss, from an epistemological perspective, the thesis that tech- nical activity constitutes an extension of the biological dimension. This is an ancient hypothesis that has more recently been taken up in biology, engineering, and the social sciences. The paper first delineates the field of inquiry, with reference to the French technological tradition; it then defines the thesis more precisely with reference to the work of Leroi-Gourhan; finally, it highlights some fruitful lines of problematisation of this thesis within the fields of cognitive archaeology (psychic domain) and the study of technical objects (political domain).