A Technical Genealogy of Imagination

Some Reflections alongside Leroi-Gourhan

Abstract

Although critical studies have addressed Leroi-Gourhan’s theory of technical object formation through the notions of tendency and fact (Audouze & Schlanger 2004; Schlanger 2023), the role of imagination within this process remains underexplored. This essay, drawing on the central arguments of Le geste et la parole, contends that the genesis of technical objects has been inherently imaginative since the earliest Hominins. In Leroi-Gourhan’s framework, imagination fulfills a dual function: it operates as a cognitive instrument – most notably through the empirical method of the operational chain, which reconstructs the mental imagery of the prehistoric flintknappers – and as a co-originary element in the simultaneous emergence of technique and language. Conceived as a symbolic or figurative faculty, imagination co-evolves with these domains, shaping and being shaped by them. Crucially, Leroi-Gourhan underscores the non-voluntary nature of technical evolution, emphasizing the irreducibility of the technical object to mere functional imposition. From its inception, the technical process bears a symbolic dimension, wherein imagination is inscribed within the material artifact. The technical object thus materializes abstract thought within organized matter, through physical constraints. Over several hundred thousand years, a dynamic equilibrium between technique and language – mediated by the biological dimension – has fostered a recursive dynamic: imagination externalizes itself through technical supports, culminating in symbolic systems such as mythograms and writing. While Sapiens reached morphological stability approximately 300,000 years ago, their imaginative-technical superstructure continues to evolve. This process of externalization, anchored in the relational dynamic between subject and object, continuously reconfigures the imaginative horizon of the human species.