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Ontogenesis is Impossible! Anarchic Origins in Science, Life, and Art with Simondon, Bataille, Schürmann, and Friends
Taught by Timothy N. W. Jackson, PhD (Acid Horizon Research Commons)
Ontogenesis is Impossible! begins from a provocation: what if life itself—becoming, transformation, individuation—cannot be adequately explained by the rationalist frameworks that dominate modern thought? From the metaphysics of Plato to the scientific models inherited from early modern physics, Western philosophy has repeatedly frozen reality into static forms, producing a picture of Being without Becoming. In this image of the world, change appears secondary, derivative, or merely accidental. But what if becoming is primary?
This five-week seminar explores the radical philosophical and scientific consequences of thinking ontogenesis—process, variation, emergence—as the fundamental reality. Taking inspiration from Gilbert Simondon’s call to make ontogenesis “first philosophy,” the course investigates how living systems, technological practices, ecological relations, and artistic expression all demonstrate the primacy of generative difference over fixed identity. Rather than seeking knowledge of individuation as an object, we attempt something more difficult: thinking in parallel with it.
Along the way, we will bring Simondon into dialogue with a wide constellation of thinkers and traditions. Charles Darwin’s “variation-first” insight into evolution, Georges Canguilhem’s philosophy of life, Félix Guattari’s concept of machinic heterogenesis, and the speculative metaphysics of Alfred North Whitehead and Charles Sanders Peirce will all appear as fellow travelers. The course also engages the experimental and transgressive thought of Georges Bataille, whose reflections on excess, expenditure, and the impossible offer a powerful counterpoint to rationalist metaphysics.
Scientific inquiry itself becomes a central object of investigation. Drawing on examples from evolutionary biology and chemical ecology, we will examine why living systems cannot be adequately captured by the mechanical models of “effective theories.” Such models often succeed instrumentally but remain incapable of describing the generative processes through which novelty emerges. Life continually exceeds the conceptual frames imposed upon it.
Yet ontogenesis is not only a biological or philosophical problem—it is also experiential. To think becoming requires confronting the unsettling fact that individuation involves transformation and loss: when we change, something of us dies. The course therefore turns to aesthetic and cultural practices—especially music and improvisation—as operational analogies for ontogenetic processes. Jazz, experimental composition, and improvisational performance reveal how form and freedom interact within creative activity, offering a vivid lens for understanding novelty, spontaneity, and emergence in life itself.
In its final movement, the course turns toward the idea of ontological anarchy, drawing on the work of Reiner Schürmann and others to ask whether a form of metaphysical practice might survive the collapse of foundational principles. What would a philosophy look like that acknowledges the contingency of its own grounds? What happens when the impossible becomes the starting point for thought rather than its limit?
This seminar invites philosophers, artists, scientists, and curious wanderers alike to explore the generative instability of reality—and to consider what it might mean to think, live, and create within a world where becoming always precedes being.
Course Structure
This five-week seminar unfolds through a series of interconnected explorations of ontogenesis across philosophy, science, and artistic practice:
Life is Technical, Not Mechanical
Examining the rationalist presuppositions of modern science and introducing variation-first thinking through Darwin, Simondon, Canguilhem, and Peirce.
Life on the Outside
Exploring evolutionary biology, chemical ecology, and the role of alterity in living systems, including parasitism, drugs, and ecological relations.
Ontogenesis of Thought and Experience
Considering the experiential dimension of individuation through Simondon, Bataille, and Jung, with attention to anxiety, transformation, and the disruptive event of the present.
Form and Freedom in Life and Music
Using improvisation, jazz, and experimental music as operational analogies for creativity, spontaneity, and ontogenetic processes.
Ontological Anarchy and the Impossible
Concluding with Schürmann’s philosophy of anarchy and the question of whether a non-foundational metaphysical practice is possible.
Instructor Bio
Dr. Timothy N. W. Jackson is a chemical ecologist and pharmacologist affiliated with the University of Melbourne, where he is also co-head of the Australian Venom Research Unit. On his LEPHT HAND appearances, he brings this scientific work into dialogue with Simondon (and fellow travelers like Bataille and Jung), focusing on variation, excess, and ontogenesis as a first philosophy rather than a purely “philosophy of science” exercise.
Course Schedule
All sessions meet from 6:00–7:30 PM EDT via Zoom.
Session 1: May 13 — Life is Technical, Not Mechanical
Session 2: May 20 — Life on the Outside
Session 3: May 27 — Ontogenesis of Thought and Experience
Session 4: June 3 — Form and Freedom in Life and Music
Session 5: June 10 — Ontological Anarchy and the Impossible
Students will receive permanent access to all recorded lectures, supplementary readings, and discussion materials.
Upon enrollment, download the welcome package and use the materials to navigate to your classroom.
Taught by Timothy N. W. Jackson, PhD (Acid Horizon Research Commons)
Ontogenesis is Impossible! begins from a provocation: what if life itself—becoming, transformation, individuation—cannot be adequately explained by the rationalist frameworks that dominate modern thought? From the metaphysics of Plato to the scientific models inherited from early modern physics, Western philosophy has repeatedly frozen reality into static forms, producing a picture of Being without Becoming. In this image of the world, change appears secondary, derivative, or merely accidental. But what if becoming is primary?
This five-week seminar explores the radical philosophical and scientific consequences of thinking ontogenesis—process, variation, emergence—as the fundamental reality. Taking inspiration from Gilbert Simondon’s call to make ontogenesis “first philosophy,” the course investigates how living systems, technological practices, ecological relations, and artistic expression all demonstrate the primacy of generative difference over fixed identity. Rather than seeking knowledge of individuation as an object, we attempt something more difficult: thinking in parallel with it.
Along the way, we will bring Simondon into dialogue with a wide constellation of thinkers and traditions. Charles Darwin’s “variation-first” insight into evolution, Georges Canguilhem’s philosophy of life, Félix Guattari’s concept of machinic heterogenesis, and the speculative metaphysics of Alfred North Whitehead and Charles Sanders Peirce will all appear as fellow travelers. The course also engages the experimental and transgressive thought of Georges Bataille, whose reflections on excess, expenditure, and the impossible offer a powerful counterpoint to rationalist metaphysics.
Scientific inquiry itself becomes a central object of investigation. Drawing on examples from evolutionary biology and chemical ecology, we will examine why living systems cannot be adequately captured by the mechanical models of “effective theories.” Such models often succeed instrumentally but remain incapable of describing the generative processes through which novelty emerges. Life continually exceeds the conceptual frames imposed upon it.
Yet ontogenesis is not only a biological or philosophical problem—it is also experiential. To think becoming requires confronting the unsettling fact that individuation involves transformation and loss: when we change, something of us dies. The course therefore turns to aesthetic and cultural practices—especially music and improvisation—as operational analogies for ontogenetic processes. Jazz, experimental composition, and improvisational performance reveal how form and freedom interact within creative activity, offering a vivid lens for understanding novelty, spontaneity, and emergence in life itself.
In its final movement, the course turns toward the idea of ontological anarchy, drawing on the work of Reiner Schürmann and others to ask whether a form of metaphysical practice might survive the collapse of foundational principles. What would a philosophy look like that acknowledges the contingency of its own grounds? What happens when the impossible becomes the starting point for thought rather than its limit?
This seminar invites philosophers, artists, scientists, and curious wanderers alike to explore the generative instability of reality—and to consider what it might mean to think, live, and create within a world where becoming always precedes being.
Course Structure
This five-week seminar unfolds through a series of interconnected explorations of ontogenesis across philosophy, science, and artistic practice:
Life is Technical, Not Mechanical
Examining the rationalist presuppositions of modern science and introducing variation-first thinking through Darwin, Simondon, Canguilhem, and Peirce.
Life on the Outside
Exploring evolutionary biology, chemical ecology, and the role of alterity in living systems, including parasitism, drugs, and ecological relations.
Ontogenesis of Thought and Experience
Considering the experiential dimension of individuation through Simondon, Bataille, and Jung, with attention to anxiety, transformation, and the disruptive event of the present.
Form and Freedom in Life and Music
Using improvisation, jazz, and experimental music as operational analogies for creativity, spontaneity, and ontogenetic processes.
Ontological Anarchy and the Impossible
Concluding with Schürmann’s philosophy of anarchy and the question of whether a non-foundational metaphysical practice is possible.
Instructor Bio
Dr. Timothy N. W. Jackson is a chemical ecologist and pharmacologist affiliated with the University of Melbourne, where he is also co-head of the Australian Venom Research Unit. On his LEPHT HAND appearances, he brings this scientific work into dialogue with Simondon (and fellow travelers like Bataille and Jung), focusing on variation, excess, and ontogenesis as a first philosophy rather than a purely “philosophy of science” exercise.
Course Schedule
All sessions meet from 6:00–7:30 PM EDT via Zoom.
Session 1: May 13 — Life is Technical, Not Mechanical
Session 2: May 20 — Life on the Outside
Session 3: May 27 — Ontogenesis of Thought and Experience
Session 4: June 3 — Form and Freedom in Life and Music
Session 5: June 10 — Ontological Anarchy and the Impossible
Students will receive permanent access to all recorded lectures, supplementary readings, and discussion materials.
Upon enrollment, download the welcome package and use the materials to navigate to your classroom.