The philosophy of invention of J. Simondon and G.S. Altshuller using the example of the icebreaker problem

Abstract

The article aims to study the possibilities of combining the theories of inventive creativity of the French philosopher J. Simondon and the Soviet engineer G.S. Altshuller. As an ex­ample, we take The Icebreaker Problem, which has often been offered to students of in­troductory courses of G.S. Altshuller’s theory of inventive problem solving (TRIZ). The presuppositions for the ideas about the technical evolution of both authors are con­sidered. The main provisions of the theory of technical evolution are demonstrated on the basis of the evolution of icebreakers. Technological inventions are considered from Simondon’s point of view. Then, we consider the principles of Altshuller’s algorithm for inventive problem solving (ARIZ) to solve The Icebreaker Problem. Although both authors describe this process from different perspectives, the general theory of the in­vention allows us to combine them both, justifying the discrepancies. TRIZ naturally complements Simondon’s inventive creativity theory as a method. Simondon’s theory, in its turn, explains the origins of this method and other unusual characteristics of TRIZ (such as the “splitting” of the subject within the framework of the idea of directed evolu­tion that organizes TRIZ).