The Relevance of René Thom: The Morphological Dimension in Today’s Sciences

Contents
1 What if Science Thought? The Relevance of René Thom or Introducing Topology into Today’s Sciences
	1.1 The Relevance of René Thom: A Morphological Look at Neo-Liberal and Logico-Combinatorial Formalism
	1.2 The Relevance of René Thom: A Shift in Philosophical Perspective
	1.3 The Relevance of René Thom: An Issue About Rationality in Modernity
	1.4 The Relevance of René Thom: The Challenges of His Thesis of “Involuted” Meaning in Phusis [11]
	1.5 The Relevance of René Thom: A Plurality of Morphological Perspectives Engaged in Their Disciplines
	References
Part I René Thom Between Philosophy and Semiotics
2 The Form as a Morphology of Process: The Relevance of René Thom for Understanding Individuation
	2.1 The Form: The Issue of a “Morphological Turn”
	2.2 Thom and Simondon Between “Morphology and Individuation”
	2.3 Simondon as Read by Thom
	2.4 Thomian Forms as Seen in Simondon’s Terms
	2.5 Towards the Form of a “Morphology of Process”
	2.6 Summary Topological Description of a Dynamical System and Its Canalisation
	2.7 Two Elementary Catastrophes: From the Fold to the Swallowtail
	2.8 The Phases of the Process and the Dimension of Internal Transformation
	References
3 Chorematics. The Dynamics of Lived Space
	3.1 Social Chorematics
	3.2 Urban Chorematics
	3.3 Morphological Chorematics. Aspect, Time, Mode
	3.4 Topological Thinking. Ontology
	References
4 Topological and Dynamic Morphologies in Semiotics
	4.1 Catastrophe Theory and Its Applications in Semiotics in Their Historical and Contemporary Context
	4.2 Morphological Principles as Deep Structures in the Lexicon of Verbs and Basic Syntax
		4.2.1 The Geometry and Dynamics of Elementary Catastrophes: The Example of the Cusp
		4.2.2 Actantial Schematizations Derived from the Cusp
	4.3 Sketch of a Morphogenetic Explanation of Human Language
	4.4 Geometric and Dynamic Morphologies of Visual Signs
	4.5 Geometric and Dynamic Morphologies of Musical Signs
	4.6 The Relevance of (Qualitative) Mathematics for Semiotics
	References
Part II René Thom Between Geography and Urbanism
5 What Can Catastrophe Theory Contribute to the Study of Cities? Two Examples and a Question
	5.1 Introduction
	5.2 What Can Catastrophe Theory Contribute to Geography?
	5.3 The Structural Path of Human Settlement Through the Prism of Catastrophe Theory
	5.4 An Attempt to Model Urban Development Using Catastrophe Theory
	5.5 What Does Catastrophe Theory Lack for Geography?
	References
6 Structural, Semiotic and Morphodynamic Geography, Thirty Years On
	6.1 G. Ritchot’s Analogical Approach: From Geomorphology to Human Geography
	6.2 The Strengths of the Analogy
	6.3 Complexity and Specificities of Abstract Forms in Human Geography
	6.4 Work in Progress in Structural Human Geography
	References
7 Psychoanalysis and Thom’s Semiotics in Dialogue: Territorial Psychoanalysis
	7.1 Introduction
	7.2 Morphogenesis—Morphogenetic Gradient
		7.2.1 The Salpêtrière District: About Urban Space
		7.2.2 The Woman Pitié: Regarding Individual (Psychic) Space
	7.3 The Vacuum
		7.3.1 The Example of the Salpêtrière
		7.3.2 The Example of Pitié
	7.4 Symptom—Morphogenetic Gradient
		7.4.1 The Example of the Salpêtrière
		7.4.2 The Example of Pitié
	7.5 Border
		7.5.1 The Example of the Salpêtrière
		7.5.2 The Example of Pitié
	7.6 Pregnancy—Pregnantial Field
		7.6.1 The Example of the Salpêtrière
		7.6.2 The Example of Pitié
	7.7 Salience
		7.7.1 The Example of the Salpêtrière
		7.7.2 The Example of Pitié
	7.8 Concluding Remarks
	References
Part III René Thom Between Psychology and Biology
8 The Notion of Archetype in Jung and in the Mathematical Theory of Rene Thom
	8.1 The Notion of Archetype in Jung
	8.2 Libido and Dynamical System
	8.3 The Catastrophes of Thom
	8.4 Thom’s Swallowtail and Jung’s Psychic Structure
	8.5 Psychic Function in the Biological Sense of the Term
	8.6 The Ego and the Process of Individualization
	8.7 Back to the Swallowtail
	8.8 Evolution Variables
	8.9 The Limits of the Swallowtail… And of the Ego
	8.10 Topological Approach to the Self
	8.11 To Conclude
	References
9 Psychoanalysis and Catastrophe Theory
	9.1 The Theory of Catastrophes
	9.2 Difficulty of Application in Psychoanalysis
	9.3 Attention to Critical Moments in the Treatment
	9.4 Repression and Form
	9.5 Identifications as Structural Effects
	9.6 Conclusions
	Bibliography
10 René Thom and His Impact on Modeling in Biology
	10.1 Introduction
	10.2 Historical Overview of Biological Ideas and Models
	10.3 Example of Tree Growth Modeling
	10.4 Embryogenesis Modeling
	10.5 Beyond Modeling, the Philosophy of Form
	10.6 Conclusion
	References
11 Contributions of Morphodynamic Models in Medicine
	11.1 Introduction
	11.2 The Tension Between Traditional Medicine and Science
		11.2.1 Causalistic and Mechanistic Determinism in Medicine
		11.2.2 The Move Towards Statistical Thinking
		11.2.3 The Dichotomy of Care: Scientific/Traditional
	11.3 Catastrophe Theory and Morphodynamic Models
	11.4 Applications of Morphodynamics in Medicine
		11.4.1 Basic and Clinical Research: A Few Examples
		11.4.2 From Semio-Linguistic Morphodynamics to Traditional Medicine
	11.5 Conclusion
	References
12 Some Remarks on Catastrophe Theory and Biology
	12.1 Introduction
	12.2 Structuralism and Structural Stability
	12.3 The First Mathematisation: Reaction–Diffusion Equations for Delbrück’s Model
	12.4 Structural Stability and the Epigenetic Landscape
	12.5 Modelling Canalization? Turing, Thom, and a Still Open Challenge
	References
Part IV René Thom, a Personal Testimony
13 The Thom Seminary: Its Genesis