The Role of the Philosophy of Technology in French-Language Studies of Video Games

Abstract

This chapter analyzes the role played by the philosophies of technology in the development of French-language studies devoted to video games. This intellectual tradition is well represented within the field, in a variety of forms which are characteristic of the main trends in the French-language philosophy of technology. The field of games studies allows comparing and contrasting these different approaches to a single object. I analyze the specificities of the French-language field, its theoretical options, and the role played by the philosophy of technology in its points of divergence from the dominant trends in game studies. Four studies located at the intersection between philosophy of technology and video games studies are specifically discussed: (1) the reference to Simondon in Etienne Perény’s works; (2) the framework of “technological macro-systems” (Gras) according to Raphaël Koster; (3) the alliance between philosophy of technology and phenomenology in the work of Elsa Boyer (Husserl, Derrida and Stiegler); and lastly, (4) the utilization of the “philosophy of technical milieus” (Beaune) in our own Philosophy of video games.