The collection brings together articles focusing on science, technology and culture in France, all of which intersect in various ways with the research interests of Professor Chris Johnson. The articles engage with the rich French-language tradition of philosophical speculation on science, scientific practice, and the relationship between the human and technology. The collection engages with a wide conceptual field, including the following: embodiment, the pre- and post-human, language, cybernetics, biological and technological evolution, and genetics. Drawing on philosophy, anthropology and science writing, the articles explore from different perspectives the way in which French thinkers have consistently questioned commonly held assumptions about the relationship between the human and the technological, and also between science, machines and the natural world. These were core preoccupations of Chris Johnson’s work and of those colleagues – several of whom have contributed to this collection – who were fortunate to collaborate with him and share his passionate engagement with these issues.

The collection brings together articles focusing on science, technology and culture in France, all of which intersect in various ways with the research interests of Professor Chris Johnson. The articles engage with the rich French-language tradition of philosophical speculation on science, scientific practice, and the relationship between the human and technology. The collection engages with a wide conceptual field, including the following: embodiment, the pre- and post-human, language, cybernetics, biological and technological evolution, and genetics. Drawing on philosophy, anthropology and science writing, the articles explore from different perspectives the way in which French thinkers have consistently questioned commonly held assumptions about the relationship between the human and the technological, and also between science, machines and the natural world. These were core preoccupations of Chris Johnson’s work and of those colleagues – several of whom have contributed to this collection – who were fortunate to collaborate with him and share his passionate engagement with these issues.