GE 7 MODULE 2 UNIT 1

SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY AND THE HUMAN

CONDITION – TECHNOLOGY AS A WAY OF REVEALING
Intended Learning Outcomes
1. Articulate historical events that have significant contribution on the
evolution of science, technology and development of the society.
2. Promote awareness on the proper use and benefits of technological
breakthroughs for the society and environment.
3. This section tackles the essence of technology based on Martin
Heidegger‟s work, The Question Concerning Technology.
4. It discusses the key concepts related to Heidegger‟s work and how
the concepts relate to an understanding if the essence of technology.
 Who is Martin Heidegger?
 Acknowledged as one of the most
important philosophers of the 20th
century.
 German philosopher who was part of
the Continental tradition philosophy.
 His stern opposition to positivism and
technological world domination
received unequivocal support from
leading postmodernists and post-
structuralists of the time, including
Jacques Derrida, Michel Foucault, and
Jean-Francois Lyotard.
 Who is Martin Heidegger?
 His membership to the Nazi Party made
him controversial, as his philosophical
work was affected by his political
affiliation, with critics saying that his
philosophy would always be rooted in his
political consciousness.
 His philosophical work centered on
ontology or the study of “being” or dasein
in German.
 His philosophical works are often
described as complicated, partly due to his
use of complex compound German words,
such as Seinsvergessenheit (Forgetfulness
of Being), Bodenständigkeit (Rootedness-
in-Soil), and Wesensverfassung (Essential
Constitution).
 The Essence of Technology
The essence of technology can be captured in its definition. In
his treatise, The Question Concerning Technology, Martin
Heidegger explains the two widely embraced definitions of
technology: (1) instrumental and (2) anthropological.
 Instrumental Definition
 Technology is a means to an end.
 Technology is not an end in itself, it is a means to an end.
 In this context, technology is viewed as a tool available to
individuals, groups, and communities that desire to make an
impact on society.
 Technology is an instrument aimed at getting things done
 Anthropological Definition
 Technology is a human activity.
 Technology defined as a human activity.
 To achieve an end is, by itself, a human activity.
 The production or invention of technological equipment,
tools and machines, the products and inventions, and the
purpose and functions they serve are what define
technology.
 Technology as a Way of
Revealing
 True can only be pursued through the correct. What is correct
leads to what is true.
 In this sense, Heidegger envisioned technology as a way of
revealing.
 Bringing forth can be understood through the ancient Greek
philosophical concept – poeisis
 Poeisis
 To bring something out
concealment.
 By bringing something out of
concealment, the truth of that
something is revealed
 Aletheia

 Unclosedness,
unconcealedness,
disclosure, truth.
Techne

 Human ability to
make and perform.
 Encompasses
knowledge and
understanding.
 Technology as Poeisis
Does Modern Technology Bring Forth or Challenge Forth?

 Heidegger posited in The Question Concerning Technology

that both primitive crafts and modern technology are
revealing.
 However, he stated that modern technology is revealing not in
the sense of poeisis or bringing forth.
 Modern technology “challenges‟ nature and modern
technology challenges nature by extracting something from it
and transforming, storing, and distributing it.
 Enframing, the Modern
Technology’s Way of Revealing

What does enframing mean?

 A way of ordering (or framing)

nature to better manipulate it.
 Happens because of how humans
desire for security, even if it
exploits nature.
 The Dangers of Technology
 The dangers of technology lie in how
humans let themselves be consumed by
it.
 The Brazilian novelist, Paulo Coelho,
once remarked that it is boastful for
humans to think that humans to think
that nature needs to be saved when
Mother Nature would remain even if
humans cease to exist. Hence, in facing
the dangers of technology, the fear of
disappearing from the face of the Earth
should concern people more potently
than the fear of the Earth disappearing.
The Dangers of Technology
 To be able to recognize the dangers
of technology, one must have critical
and reflective thinking on its use:
 For example, social media has
connected people in the most
efficient and convenient way
imaginable, but it also has brought
issues and controversies along with it
such as invasion of privacy, online
disinhibition, and proliferation of
fake news.
The Dangers of Technology
 The real threat of technology
comes from its essence, not its
activities or products
 Ultimately, the essence of
technology is by no means
anything technological
(Heidegger, 1977).
 Art as Saving Power

“But where danger is, grows the saving power

also.” – Friedrich Holderlin, 1977
 Art as Saving Power
“Because the essence of technology is nothing
technological, essential reflection upon technology and
decisive confrontation with it must happen in a realm that
is, on the one hand, akin to the essence of technology and,
on the other, fundamentally different from it. Such a realm
is art. But certainly only if reflection on art, for its part
does not shut its eyes to the constellation of truth after
which we are questioning.” – (Heidegger, 1977).
 Questioning as the Piety of
Thought

 Heidegger concluded that:

 The closer we come to
danger, the more brightly
do the ways into the saving
power begin to shine and
the more questioning we
become.
 Questioning as the Piety of
Thought

 Heidegger emphasized the importance of questioning in the

midst of technology; Furthermore, to him, there is an
unparalleled wisdom gained when humans are able to pause,
think, and question what is around them.
 Questioning as the Piety of
Thought
 Questioning is the piety of thought.
Through questioning, humans:
 Are able to reassess their position in
the midst of technology and the
greater scheme of things.
 Bear witness to the crises that a
complete preoccupation with
technology brings, preventing them
from experiencing the essence of
technology.