Mark Young

• Young, Mark (2026). What It Means to Say That Artifacts Are Processes: Maintenance, History and Politics, Process Philosophy and Technology: New Directions. Routledge. ISSN 9781041005193. p. 95–127. doi: 10.4324/9781003610250-6. Full text in Research Archive
• Young, Mark (2025). Technology Over Time: Philosophical Perspectives on Maintenance. Techné: Research in Philosophy and Technology. 29(2&3), p. 93–121. doi: 10.5840/techne2025292-3211. Full text in Research Archive
• Young, Mark (2018). Intuition and Ineffability: Tacit Knowledge and Engineering Design. Philosophy of Engineering and Technology. ISSN 1879-7202. 31(1), p. 53–67. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-91029-1_4. Full text in Research Archive
• Young, Mark (2018). Artifacts as rules: Wittgenstein and the sociology of technology. Techné: Research in Philosophy and Technology. 22(3), p. 377–399. doi: 10.5840/techne2018121789. Full text in Research Archive
• Young, Mark (2018). Heuristics and Human Judgment: What We Can Learn About Scientific Discovery from the Study of Engineering Design. Topoi. ISSN 0167-7411. p. 1–9. doi: 10.1007/s11245-018-9550-8. Full text in Research Archive
• Young, Mark (2017). Enchanting automata: Wilkins and the wonder of workmanship. Intellectual History Review. ISSN 1749-6977. 27(4), p. 453–471. doi: 10.1080/17496977.2017.1374059. Full text in Research Archive
• Young, Mark (2017). Manual Labor and ‘Mean Mechanicks’: Bacon’s Mechanical History and the Deprecation of Craft Skills in Early Modern Science. Perspectives on Science. ISSN 1063-6145. 25(4), p. 521–550. doi: 10.1162/POSC_a_00252. Full text in Research Archive
• Young, Mark (2017). Nature as Spectacle: Experience and Empiricism in Early Modern Experimental Practice. Centaurus. Journal of the European Society for the History of Science. ISSN 0008-8994. 59(1-2), p. 72–96. doi: 10.1111/1600-0498.12155. Full text in Research Archive
• Young, Mark (2016). Technology and technique: The role of skill in the practice of scientific observation. Perspectives on Science. ISSN 1063-6145. 24(4), p. 396–415. doi: 10.1162/POSC_a_00213. Full text in Research Archive
• Young, Mark (2011). Relevance and Relationalism. Metaphysica. ISSN 1437-2053. 12(1), p. 19–30. doi: 10.1007/s12133-011-0074-6. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This paper will provide support for relationalism; the claim that the identity of objects is constituted by the totality of their relations to other things in the world. I will consider how Kit Fine’s criticisms of essentialism within modal logic not only highlight the inability of modal logic to account for essential properties but also arouse suspicion surrounding the possibility of nonrelational properties. I will claim that Fine’s criticisms, together with concerns surrounding Hempel’s paradox, show that it is not possible to provide a satisfactory account of certain properties in abstraction from their place within a wider context. Next, we will shift attention to natural kinds and consider the notion that relevance plays in metaphysical accounts of identity, by examining Peter Geach’s notion of relative identity. I will argue that the intensional relation between subject and object must be included in a satisfactory account of metaphysical identity.

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• Young, Mark & Coeckelbergh, Mark (2026). Process Philosophy and Technology: New Directions. Routledge. ISBN 9781041005193. doi: 10.4324/9781003610250. Full text in Research Archive

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• Young, Mark (2026). Artifacts are Never Tamed: Maintenance and the Philosophy of Technology. Full text in Research Archive
• Young, Mark (2026). Artefact Metabolisms: The Material Flows of an iPhone. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This paper introduces the notion of artefact metabolism by exploring how objects serve as sites through which materials flow in the form of parts or consumables. As a central activity of maintenance and repair, the replacement of materials encourages us to reflect not only on the complex and heterogeneous temporalities of the objects that surround us, but also on the wider contexts in which they exist. Insofar as the replacement of parts demands interchangeability and standardisation, artefact metabolism is an achievement requiring the coordination of various actors. Yet, far from a mere ‘feature’, metabolisms are deeply connected to the achievement that technologies themselves often represent. Many of the most celebrated aspects of modern technology, from the reliability of aircraft engines to the longevity and structural integrity of engineered structures, depend on the replacement of parts and materials over time. At the same time, however, the metabolisms of artefacts are not fixed, and neither do they remain uncontested. This paper examines how the metabolism of artefacts may be negotiated between different actors by exploring the case study of the iPhone. We begin by reviewing attempts by Apple to constrain the metabolism of the phone, by restricting the accessibility of OEM parts and creating barriers to replacement through initiatives such as software pairing or designing phones in ways that discourage repair. We then look at how these initiatives are balanced by attempts to facilitate the metabolism of the device by a range of other actors, including third-party parts manufacturers in China and right-to-repair activists who disseminate knowledge and equipment enabling the replacement of parts. As I argue, this unique ecology of repair helps to determine the complex temporality of the iPhone – a device that serves as a site through which a wide range of parts and materials flow.

• Young, Mark (2025). Smartphone Metabolisms: Material Flows in the Evolution of the iPhone. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This presentation explores the design history of the iphone as a backdrop against which to introduce and examine two new concepts in maintenance and repair studies which are useful for examining the processes artifacts undergo after their production. The first, disassembility captures the extent to which the parts of an artifact can be separated without destroying them or the object. Insofar as it depends not only on how objects are designed, but also on the availability of skills, knowledge and equipment, the disassembility of artifacts are often determined by a much wider range of actors than the producers of a technology alone. We’ll begin exploring how this applies to the iphone by examining how the separability of components has changed throughout the design history of the device. Then we’ll turn our attention to iphone displays and explore how the disassembility of these components change as they move between and across different contexts before examining some recent initiatives to disrupt the existing landscape through the development of specialized equipment which enable the disassembly of displays in new contexts. The second part of the presentation introduces the concept of artifact metabolism by exploring how objects serve as sites through which materials flow in the form of spare parts and consumables. As I’ll attempt to show, the metabolic natures of artifacts often result from negotiation between different actors. To illustrate this in the case of the iphone, we’ll review attempts by Apple to constrain the metabolism of the phone, by restricting the accessibility of OEM parts and creating barriers to replacement through initiatives such as software pairing or designing phones in ways which discourage user repairs. Then we’ll look at how these initiatives are balanced by attempts to facilitate the metabolism of the device by a range of other actors, including third party parts manufacturers in China and right to repair activists who disseminate the knowledge and equipment required for the replacement of parts and consumables.

• Young, Mark (2025). Material Flows in the Evolution of the iPhone. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Join Mark Young, Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Oslo, for a fascinating deep dive into the hidden life of the iPhone — from its design history to the unseen material flows that shape its evolution. Discover how ideas in maintenance and repair studies can shift the way we think about technology, consumption, and sustainability.

• Young, Mark (2025). Taking Things Apart: Clips, Glues and Pentalobe Screws. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This presentation examines how and when objects are taken apart, the contexts in which this occurs and the challenges actors face in achieving disassembly. In doing so, my aim will be to demonstrate how “dis- assembility” – the extent to which the parts of an object can be separated without destroying them or the object - represents an important feature of our relationship to technology and one which has yet to receive sufficient attention from existing literature. The first part of the presentation explores how disassembility is grounded in a relational ontology, in which the separability of components depends not only on how objects are designed, but also on the skills, knowledge and equipment available to consumers and technicians. For this reason, there are a much wider range of actors who are able to determine the disassembility of objects than the producers of technol- ogy alone. In fact, the disassembility of objects is often contested by a range of actors, from consumer organisations to DIY hackers, who disrupt practices and attitudes towards objects by disseminating tools, equipment and information enabling them to be taken apart. These processes stem from a variety of mo- tivations, including concerns surrounding environmental impacts of existing patterns of consumption and the democratization of technology. The second part of the presentation examines how these themes intersect by focusing specifically on the case of the smartphone. Smartphones are devices which connect and fold components together so tightly that they strongly encourage us to see them as singular. Most smartphones are designed in ways which give very little indication that they can even be opened - let alone that they consist of parts. They often have seamless exteriors, with few if any visible screw holes - and components which are often glued together. However, since the origin of the technology itself, the disassembility of smartphones has been contested by actors who disseminate not only tools and equipment, but also knowledge that enables peo- ple to take their phones apart. Yet even despite consisting of various components, none of this material aims to enable to disassembly of smartphone displays which have long been treated as singular objects in western Europe and North America. When the glass which forms the front layer is cracked, common practice in these regions dictates replacing the entire display. Replaced displays are then shipped to other geographic locations such as eastern Europe or China, where they are disassembled to identify and replace faulty or broken components before returning to the market again in the form of “refurbished” displays. This case study looks at how the disassembility of these objects change as they move between and across different contexts and explores some recent initiatives to disrupt the existing landscape by providing DIY tools and specialized equipment to consumers and repair shops in Western Europe and North America which enable the disassembly of displays.

• Young, Mark (2025). Taking Things Apart: Clips, Glues and Pentalobe Screws. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This presentation examines how and when objects are taken apart, the contexts in which this occurs and the challenges actors face in achieving disassembly. In doing so, my aim will be to demonstrate how “disassembility” – the extent to which the parts of an object can be separated without destroying them or the object - represents an important feature of our relationship to technology and one which has yet to receive sufficient attention from existing literature. Insofar as the separability of components depends not only on how objects are designed, but also on the skills, knowledge and equipment available to consumers and technicians, my talk will begin by demonstrating how the dissasembility of objects is not determined by their producers alone, and instead often results from the activities of a wider range of actors, from consumer organizations to DIY hackers, who disrupt practices and attitudes towards objects by disseminating tools, equipment and information enabling them to be taken apart. Later sections examine how these themes intersect by focusing specifically on the case of the smartphone. Smartphones are devices which connect and fold components together so tightly that they strongly encourage us to see them as singular. Most smartphones are designed in ways which give very little indication that they can even be opened - let alone that they consist of parts. They often have seamless exteriors, with few if any visible screw holes - and components which are often glued together. However, since the origin of the technology itself, the disassembility of smartphones has been contested by actors who disseminate not only tools and equipment, but also knowledge that enables people to take their phones apart. This case study looks at how the disassembility of these objects change as they move between and across different contexts and explores some recent initiatives to disrupt the existing landscape by providing DIY tools and specialized equipment to consumers and repair shops in Western Europe and North America which enable the disassembly of smartphone components.

• Young, Mark (2025). Artifact Metabolisms: The Material Flows of an Iphone. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  The ancient paradox of the Ship of Theseus – in which the materials of a boat are gradually replaced over time - underscores a feature of artifacts which has largely been overlooked. While most philosophers have approached the paradox as an opportunity to explore metaphysical questions surrounding identity and change, the processes by which artifacts exchange matter with their environments has attracted relatively little attention, not only in philosophy but also within scholarship on technology more generally. Yet gaining a deeper understanding of these processes is clearly important: not only do most artifacts exchange material with their environments in some way throughout their histories, but the extent to which they do so is increasingly recognized as crucial for achieving more sustainable patterns of consumption and fulfilling our rights as consumers and owners of artifacts. The first section of this presentation aims introduce and examine the notion of artifact metabolism (Evnine 2016; Young 2024) by exploring how objects serve as sites through which materials flow in the form of spare or replacement parts and consumables such as lubricants or paint. As perhaps the most pervasive activity performed under the guise of maintenance and repair, the replacement of materials and parts encourages us to reflect, not only on the complex and heterogenous temporalities of the objects which surround us, but also on the wider context in which they exist. Insofar as the replacement of parts demands interchangeability and standardization, artifact metabolism is itself often a hard-won achievement requiring the coordination of various actors. Yet far from being a mere ‘feature’ – metabolisms are deeply connected to the achievement that technologies themselves often represent. Many of the most celebrated aspects of modern technology, from the reliability of aircraft engines to the longevity and structural integrity of engineered structures – depend crucially on processes through which parts and materials come to be replaced over time. At the same time however, the metabolic natures of artifacts are not fixed2 and neither do they remain uncontested. The second section of this presentation aims to examine how the metabolism of artifacts may be negotiated between different actors by exploring the case study of the iphone. We’ll begin by reviewing attempts by Apple to constrain the metabolism of the phone, by restricting the accessibility of OEM parts and creating barriers to replacement through initiatives such as software pairing or designing phones in ways which discourage user repairs. Then we’ll look at how these initiatives are balanced by attempts to facilitate the metabolism of the device by a range of other actors, including third party parts manufacturers in China and right to repair activists who disseminate the knowledge and equipment required for the replacement of parts and consumables. As I’ll argue, this unique ecology of repair helps to determine the complex temporality of the iphone – a device which serves as a site through which a wide range of parts and materials flow.

• Young, Mark & Johannessen, Harald (2019). Technology and Practice in Seventeenth Century English Experimentalism. Universitetet i Bergen. ISSN 9788230835128. Full text in Research Archive

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