following on from the previous post about stiegler and the cinemato-graphic structure of consciousness, i began re-reading stiegler’s technics and time, 1: the fault of epimetheus.

in this short post i will give a brief overview of an interesting idea that stiegler posits in the work. in the work stiegler discusses three different forms of memory.

genetic memory: that which is inherent in our dna.

epigenetic memory: that which we acquire during our lifetime, stored in the central nervous system

& epiphylogenetic memory – an exteriorisation of memory in technology (technics).

stiegler argues that technology and humans are co-originatory through his reading of the myth of prometheus.

epimetheus, brother to prometheus, is tasked with distributing the traits of the newly created animals. through a lack of foresight, by the time it is the turn of humankind to receive a trait there a none left over. with humankind bereft of any distinguishing and differenetiating qualities, prometheus decides to steal fire from olympus and gift it to humankind .

the human therefore, only becomes separate and distinct from other animals once it given the gift of fire. the gift of technology.

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