A COMPARISON BETWEEN JASON HICKEL'S FRAMEWORK

OF DE-DEVELOPMENT AND MARTIN HEIDEGGER'S THE QUESTION

CONCERNING TECHNOLOGY.

An Essay Submitted to the Undergraduate Programs School of Natural Sciences

Saint Louis University

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Course BS Accountancy

Submitted by:
Alec Benjamin P. Lingan
BS Accountancy

Submitted to:
Racquel Barcelo
Professor
 Jason Hickel's Framework of De-Development and Martin Heidegger's The Question
Concerning Technology provides insight into our society's future regarding our advancements.
They both warn humanity about our thirst for development and the dangers of being too
greedy/too complacent. Although development would often be seen as something positive for
society, going too fast would become detrimental for our species and humanity when we look at
the bigger picture. And while both philosophies warn us of the dangers, both also give us an
alternate pathway to achieving actual development. The proposed alternatives are where these
two diverge.
Jason Hickel's philosophy is economical and environmental based. He proposes that
instead of focusing on developing poor countries, we should allow the more "developed"
countries to slow down their natural resource consumption. He cites the United States of
America as an example of a rich country that has exhausted more than its fair share of the
resources here on the planet. Those excessive consumptions should be allocated among the poor
first; only then can we talk about actual development.
Martin Heidegger's philosophy, on the other hand, is focused on technology and how the
same reveals our human nature. This philosophy is more personal and micro-based than the
previous one. It speaks of enframing the truth behind men and using that information as a
reserve. Humans have to think for themselves and not allow these modern technologies to
consume them, lest they become blind to dangers it will enable in the future.
When these ideas are met, there comes the potential of human flourishing in society.
Aristotle once regarded this as having a good life through wealth, power, and friendships.
Nowadays, however, we don't have to be limited to only these things for human flourishing.
Human Flourishing can mean no one in humanity is hungry or that everyone gets their fair share.
It can mean that humans are no longer slaves to technology, that people will remain freethinkers.
Maybe then, we might be able to see true happiness.
Plagiarism Check: