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Chasing Technoscience: Matrix for Materiality (2003) is a foundational text in the Indiana Series in the Philosophy of Technology

that examines the essential role of the physical and material in scientific practice. Edited by Don Ihde and Evan Selinger, the volume challenges "theory-biased" philosophical thinking by focusing on how materiality deeply shapes our interaction with the world. Key Themes and Structure

The book is structured into two main parts that bridge empirical studies with philosophical reflection:

Core Protagonists: Part one features interviews and substantive essays from four major figures in technoscience studies: Andrew Pickering, Don Ihde, Donna Haraway, and Bruno Latour.

Materiality: It argues that science and technology are increasingly indistinguishable, forming a "technoscience" where experimentation and material tools are central.

Beyond Subjectivism: The text explores "post-phenomenology" and the move away from human-centric views, investigating how non-humans (tools and technologies) possess a form of agency.

Normative and Ethical Inquiry: Later chapters evaluate the moral and social implications of these technologies, emphasizing that societal values deeply influence how we perceive and interact with material objects. Availability and Format

While the book is primarily available in physical formats (Paperback and Cloth), finding it as a MOBI file (a legacy Amazon Kindle format) may be difficult as modern digital retailers have largely transitioned to EPUB or proprietary Kindle formats.

Why the MOBI Edition Matters

Here’s the practical hook: the MOBI format (yes, for Kindle) of this title has quietly become the preferred reading method for grad students, postdocs, and restless philosophers. Why?

  • Searchability: Try finding Ihde’s “embodiment relations” across 280 pages of print. In MOBI, it’s instant.
  • Marginalia without guilt: Digital highlights don’t ruin a library copy.
  • The chase fits in your pocket: Reading Latour on a subway while watching people interact with turnstiles? That’s praxis.

More importantly, reading Chasing Technoscience in a portable digital format mirrors one of its central claims: technologies mediate our access to the material world. The screen, the file, the backlight—these aren’t neutral carriers. They’re part of the argument.

3. The Matrix as Ethical-Political Arena

Materiality is never neutral. The book’s matrix framework forces readers to ask: Who gets to shape material conditions? How does racialized or gendered embodiment enter the laboratory? One chapter examines how the material design of medical imaging technologies (e.g., the “default” body size in MRI calibration) embeds normative assumptions.

In essence, chasing technoscience means pursuing these relational matrices wherever they lead—from the particle accelerator to the smartphone factory to the agricultural biotech lab.

How to Legitimately Acquire the Mobi Version

Given copyright laws and respect for Indiana University Press, here are the legitimate pathways to obtaining Chasing Technoscience in Mobi format for the Kindle ecosystem:

  1. Amazon Kindle Store: Search for "Chasing Technoscience Indiana Series." While often available as a print-on-demand or hardcover, check the "Kindle Edition." If present, Amazon will auto-deliver in a current Kindle format (which can be converted to legacy Mobi if needed via Calibre).
  2. Project MUSE / JSTOR: Many university libraries provide access to the ebook via these platforms. Download the file (often PDF or EPUB) and use open-source software like Calibre to convert to Mobi.
  3. Internet Archive (Borrow Only): Some scanned copies exist for non-commercial borrowing. You can download a PDF and legally convert it for personal reading accessibility.
  4. Direct from IU Press: Occasionally, the Indiana University Press website sells DRM-free EPUBs. Use a tool like Kindle Previewer or Calibre to convert EPUB to Mobi.

Warning: Avoid shady "free download" sites. Many offer corrupted files or malware. Furthermore, pirating a book from the Indiana Series undermines the very academic ecosystem that produces such vital philosophy.

1. The Matrix as Relational Grid

Materiality is not an intrinsic property of an object. A stone is just a rock until it becomes a hammer, a paperweight, or a specimen. The matrix is the set of relations—scientific instruments, laboratory protocols, funding agencies, embodied researchers—that give materiality its meaning. For example, a PET scan’s materiality (its radioactive tracers, its detectors) only emerges within a technoscientific matrix of nuclear physics, medicine, and patient positioning.