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STS Chapter 5

Technology, for Heidegger, reveals truth (aletheia) through poiesis, the process of bringing something forth. Modern technology challenges nature aggressively and frames it for manipulation to satisfy human desires like security. This enframing risks misinterpreting nature and consuming humans. Questioning technology is important to understand its essence beyond instruments. Art inspires alternative meditative thinking about nature and technology's role in human life.

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317 views2 pages

STS Chapter 5

Technology, for Heidegger, reveals truth (aletheia) through poiesis, the process of bringing something forth. Modern technology challenges nature aggressively and frames it for manipulation to satisfy human desires like security. This enframing risks misinterpreting nature and consuming humans. Questioning technology is important to understand its essence beyond instruments. Art inspires alternative meditative thinking about nature and technology's role in human life.

Uploaded by

Burning Rose
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Technology as a Way of Revealing

Basic Tenets:
Poeisis – is a way of revealing.
Aletheia - the truth.

The idea of Heidegger is that:


Technology is a Poiesis that uncovers the Aletheia or the truth.

According to Heidegger, correct leads to what is true. Hence, he argued that people
should envision technology as a mode of revealing, “bringing forth” since it shows much
more about the human person and the world. Hence, we can conclude that we can only
bring forth the truth through technology.
But why technology?
The term technology originated from the Greek word, techne which also resembles the
word, episteme, which, means the human ability to make and perform. It also
encompasses knowledge and understanding.
In the context of art, it also means an act of mind and poetry. In fact, Aristotle also
considers Poiesis as making or producing something, poetry, and composition. As stated
by the various concepts and facts, we can conclude that technology or Poiesis as
mentioned by Heidegger, really allows us to bring forth the truth.

Technology as Poiesis

Primitive crafts and modern technology are revealing. However, modern technology is
not revealing in the sense of bringing forth or poesis. It challenges forth since it is
very aggressive in its activity. Modern technology challenges nature and demands of its
resources that are, most of the time, forcibly extracted for human consumption and
storage. It “enframes” (from the word enframing) the nature.

Enframing: Way of Revealing in Modern Technology

Enframing is a way of ordering nature to better manipulate it. Enframing happens


because people desire security. According to Heidegger, it is akin to two ways of
looking at the world; calculative and meditative thinking. In calculative thinking,
humans tend to control nature to better understand and control it. In meditative
thinking, humans allow nature to reveal itself to them without the use of force or violence.
Calculative thinking tends to be more commonly utilized, primarily because hu,ams
desire to control due to their fear of irregularity.
The role of humans as instruments of technology through Enframing is called destining.
In destining, humans are challenged forth by Enframing to reveal what is real. However,
the destining of humans to reveal nature carries with it the danger of misconstruction and
misinterpretation.
Danger of Technology

The dangers of technology lie in how humans let themselves be consumed by it.
Recognizing the danger of technology requires critical and reflective thinking. However,
the real threat of technology comes from its essence, not its activities or products.

Human Person Swallowed by Technology

If we allow to get swallowed by modern technology, we lose the essence of who we are
as beings in this world.

The essence of technology is not the instrumentality and functions of machine


constructions but in the significance such technology unfolds.

Questioning as the piety of thoughts

Heidegger underscored the importance of questioning in the midst of technology. For him, there
is unparalleled wisdom gained only when humans are able to pause, think, and question what is
around them. Humans are consumed by technology when they are caught up in Enframing and
fail to pay attention to the intricacies of technology, the brilliance purpose of humankind, and the
genius of humans to bring forth.

Humans need to take a step back and reassess who they are, who they are, and who they are
becoming.

Piety is associated with being religious. However, it also means obedience and submission. In
addressing what technology has brought forth, one cannot help but be submissive to what
his/her thoughts and relations elicit.

Art As a Way Out of Enframing

Art is a way out of Enframing since through this, we can see the poetic nature. Art also
allows humans to think less from a calculative standpoint, where nature is viewed as an
order system, Instead, it inspires meditative thinking where nature is seen as an art, that,
in all of art, nature is most poetic.
When meditatively looking at technology, one will begin to question its significance in
his/her life more than its instrumental use. Again, it is questioning that we build a way to
understand.
Meditative thinking provides a way for us to remain rooted in the essence of who we are.
Aristotle causes:
1. causa materialis
2. causa formalis
3. causa finalis
4. causa efficiens

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