Technology as a Way of Revealing

At A Glance: Who is Martin Heidegger?

"The essence of technology is by no means anything technological." - Martin Heidegger (1977)

Martin Heidegger (1889-1976) is widely acknowledged as one of the most important philosophers of the 20th century. He was a German philosopher who was part of the Continental tradition of 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-François Lyotard.

In 1933, he joined the Nazi Party (NSDAP) and remained to be a member until it was dismantled toward the end of World War II. This resulted in his dismissal from the University of Freiburg in 1949. He was only able to resume teaching in 1951. Heidegger's membership to the Nazi Party made him controversial-his philosophical work was often eclipsed by his political affiliation, with critics saying that his philosophy would always be rooted in his political consciousness.

Heidegger's work on philosophy focused 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).

To know more about the life and philosophy of Heidegger, watch a five-minute YouTube video entitled, The Philosophy of Martin Heidegger which can be accessed on this link: https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=BrlsGrA7XTU. This can be done as a class, if internet access is available, or individually as an added out-of-class work. Remember, it is important to understand basic concepts related to Heidegger's philosophy to better make sense of his work.

The Essence of Technology

It cannot be denied that science and technology are responsible for the ways society is continuously being modernized. Science and technology continuously seep into the way people go about their daily lives. However, the omnipresence of science and technology must not eclipse the basic tenets of ethics and morality. Instead, it should allow the human person to flourish alongside scientific progress and technological development. In order to spark the discussion on the role of ethics and social morality in science and technology, it is necessary to go back to the very essence of technology, i.e., its definition.

The essence of technology can be captured in its definition. In his treatise, The Question Concerning Technology, Martin Heidegger (1977) explains the two widely embraced definitions of technology: (1) instrumental and (2) anthropological.

1. 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. How technology is used varies from individual to individual, groups to groups, and communities to communities according to their individual and collective functions, goals, and aspirations. While technology is omnipresent, knowing its functions requires paying attention to how humans use it as a means to an end. In this sense, technology is an instrument aimed at getting things done.

2. Anthropological definition: Technology is a human activity. Alternatively, technology can also be defined as a human activity because to achieve an end and to produce and use a means to an end is, by itself, a human activity. The production or invention of technological equipment, tools and machines, the products and inventions, and the and functions purpose they serve are what define technology.

Both definitions, i.e., instrumental and anthropological, are correct. However, neither touches on the true essence of technology.

Technology as a Way of Revealing

Heidegger stressed that the true can only be pursued through the correct. Simply, what is correct leads to what is true. In this sense, Heidegger envisioned technology as a way of revealing-a mode of 'bringing forth.' Bringing forth can be understood through the Ancient Greek philosophical concept, poiesis, which refers to the act of bringing something out of concealment. By bringing something out of concealment, the truth of that something is revealed. The truth is understood through another Ancient Greek concept of aletheia, which is translated as unclosedness, unconcealedness, disclosure, or truth.

Thus, for Heidegger, technology is a form of poeisis-a way of revealing that unconceals aletheia or the truth. This is seen in the way the term techne, the Greek root word of technology, is understood in different contexts. In philosophy, techne resembles the term episteme that refers to the human ability to make and perform. Techne also encompasses knowledge and understanding. In art, it refers to tangible and intangible aspects of life. The Greeks understood techne in the way that it encompasses not only craft, but other acts of the mind, and poetry.

Technology as Poiesis: Does Modern Technology Bring Forth or Challenge Forth?

Heidegger, in The Question Concerning Technology, posited that both primitive crafts and modern technology are revealing. However, he explained that modern technology is revealing not in the sense of bringing forth or poiesis. Heidegger made a clear distinction between technology and modern technology in that the latter 'challenges' nature. Modern technology challenges nature by extracting something from it and transforming, storing, and distributing it.

On the surface, Heidegger's criticism of modern technology might appear counterintuitive to the purpose of nature to human existence. However, by digging deeper into Heidegger's question, it becomes clear that the essence of modern technology is not to bring forth in the sense of poiesis. Instead, Heidegger considers modern technology's way of revealing as a way of challenging forth. Modern technology challenges forth, because it makes people think how to do things faster, more effectively, and with less effort. It prompts people into dominating and enframing the earth's natural resources. Challenging forth reduces objects as standing-reserve or something to be disposed of by those who enframe them-humans. This is evident in the way people exploit natural resources with very little concern for the ecological consequences that come with it. Challenging forth as a result of modern technology is also evident in the information age, such that greater control of information to profit from its value gives rise to concerns about privacy and the protection of human rights.

The challenging forth of modern technology is seen everywhere: in the rise and depletion of petroleum as a strategic resource; the introduction and use of synthetic dyes, artificial flavorings, and toxic materials into the consumer stream that bring about adverse effects on human health; and the use of ripening agents in agriculture that poses threats to food safety and health security.

Enframing as Modern Technology's Way of Revealing

If the essence of technology can be understood as a way of bringing forth the truth in the sense of poiesis, Heidegger distinguished the way of revealing of modern technology by considering it as a process enframing. Humankind's desire to control everything, including nature, is captured in this process. By putting things, in this case nature, in a frame, it becomes much easier for humans to control it according to their desires.

Enframing, according to Heidegger, is akin to two ways of looking at the world: calculative thinking and meditative thinking. In calculative thinking, humans desire to put an order to 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. One thinking is not necessarily better than the other. In fact, humans are capable of using both and will benefit from being able to harmonize these ways of looking at the world. Yet, calculative thinking tends to be more commonly utilized, primarily because humans' desire to control due to their fear of irregularity.

Enframing, then, is a way of ordering (or framing) nature to better manipulate it. Enframing happens because of how humans desire for security, even if it puts all of nature as a standing reserve ready for exploitation. Modern technology challenges humans to enframe nature. Thus, humans become part of the standing reserve and an instrument of technology, to be exploited in the ordering of nature. The role humans take as instruments of technology through enframing is called destining. In destining, humans are challenged forth by enframing to reveal what is real. However, this destining of humans to reveal nature carries with it the danger of misconstruction or misinterpretation.

The Dangers of Technology Dangers of Technology

The dangers of technology lie in how humans let themselves be consumed by it. Although humans are looped into the cycle of bringing forth or challenging forth, it is their responsibility to recognize how they become instruments of technology.

The Brazilian novelist, Paulo Coelho, once remarked that it is boastful for humans to think that nature needs to be saved, whereas 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. As mere tenants on Earth, people must not allow themselves to be consumed by technology lest they lose the essence of who they are as human beings. In this sense, humans are in danger of becoming merely part of the standing reserve or, alternatively, may find themselves in nature.

Recognizing its dangers of technology requires critical and reflective thinking on its use. For example, social media has indeed connected people in the most efficient and convenient way imaginable, but it also inadvertently gave rise to issues such as invasion of privacy, online disinhibition, and proliferation of fake news. The line has to be drawn between what constitutes a beneficial use of social media and a dangerous one. As exemplified, social media comes with both benefit and drawbacks.

However, the real threat of technology comes from its essence. not its activities or products. The correct response to the danger of technology is not simply dismissing technology altogether. Heidegger (1977) explained that people are delivered over to technology in the worst possible way when they regard it as something neutral. This conception of technology, according to Heidegger, to which today humans particularly like to pay homage, makes them utterly blind to the essence of technology. Ultimately, the essence of technology is by no means anything technological (Heidegger, 1977).

Art as the Saving Power

Necessary reflection upon and confrontation with technology are required in order to proactively address the dangers of technology Friedrich Hölderlin, a German poet quoted by Heidegger, said: "But where danger is, grows the saving power also" (1977, p. 14). Following this, the saving power can be traced exactly where the danger is-in the essence of technology. As mentioned, this essence is not neutral and by no means anything technological. Along this line, Heidegger proposed art as the saving power and the way out of enframing: "And art was simply called techne. It was a single, manifold revealing" (1977, p. 18). Heidegger saw art as an act of the mind, i.e., a techne, that protected and had great power over the truth. By focusing on art, people are able to see more clearly how art is embedded in nature. Art encourages humans to think less from a calculative standpoint where nature is viewed as an ordered system. Instead, it inspires meditative thinking where nature is seen as an art and that, in all of art, nature is most poetic. Heidegger encapsulated this as follows:

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 (1977, p. 19).

Questioning as the Piety of Thought

Heidegger concluded his treatise on technology by saying:

The closer we come to the danger, the more brightly do the ways into the saving power begin to shine and the more questioning we become. For questioning is the piety of thought (1977, p. 19).

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 of the purpose of humankind, and the genius of humans to bring forth the truth.

Questioning is the piety of thought. It is only through questioning that humans are able to reassess their position not only in the midst of technology around them, but also, and most importantly, in the grand scheme of things. Heidegger posited that it is through questioning that humans bear witness to the crises that a complete preoccupation with technology brings, preventing them from experiencing the essence of technology.

Thus, humans need to take a step back and reassess who they were, who they are, and who they are becoming in the midst of technology in this day and age.