In the Anthropocene, with the rise of the technosphere, the Earth System has been transformed into a vast technological network. This marks a moment of re-composition for many institutions, technologies, and scientific and intellectual fields. To respond to the complexities of these transformations, relying on current mono-technological paradigms and singular knowledge structures is ineffective. The dilemma reflects epistemological and methodological rupture, which requires a shift towards ontological pluralism, articulated through cosmotechnics.
In this context, the re-invention of cosmotechnics is not merely about the multiple possibilities of technical entities but is an essential component of a broader framework. It provides a way to critically reassess the assumptions underlying knowledge production and its connections to scientific inquiry, environmental stewardship, and systems of governance.
The endeavour to explore and reinvent cosmotechnics seeks to reaffirm the unity of figure and ground. In "The Question Concerning Technology in China," Yuk Hui defines cosmotechnics as the unification of cosmic and moral orders through technical activities. Chinese cosmology introduces a unique sensory faculty called "ganying" (感应), or "resonance," which underpins a moral cosmology based on the unity of heaven and humanity. This concept of resonance suggests correlative thinking where all existence is homogeneous and interconnected. In the context of technics, it manifests as the unification of Qi (器: meaning 'tools') and Dao (道: meaning 'the principle of nature'). This perspective offers a distinct way of exploring and organising the world, differing from Western technological paradigms rooted in modernity.
Confronting the complexity of the modes of existence, we must reconsider the diversity of cosmotechnics to embrace new cosmopolitics. It is necessary to reappropriate modern technology through a new framework of cosmotechnics, one that is composed of different epistemologies and epistemes.