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.
● His work focused on ontology or the study of ‘being’ or dasein in German

The Essence of Technology

● According to traditional philosophy, we can ask the question of essence by asking "what"
something is. The essence of technology can be captured in its definition. In his writings,
“The Questions Concerning Technology”, Martin Heidegger explains two widely
embraced definition of technology:
1. Instrumental Definition
- Technology is a means to an end
- technology is an instrument aimed at getting things done
2. Anthropological Definition
- Technology is a human activity
- The production or invention of technological equipment, tools and
machines, and the products and inventions and the purpose and functions
they serve are what define technology

REVEALING (a mode of being)

● means that technological things have their own novel kind of presence, endurance, and
connections among parts and wholes. They have their own way of presenting
themselves and the world in which they operate.

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.
● 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 act of bringing something into unconcealment.
● Aletheia
- Ancient Greek word which means “unconcealment” or disclosure or truth
● Technology is a form of poiesis – a way of revealing that unconceals aletheia (truth)
● In philosophy, techne resembles the term episteme that refers to the human ability to
make or perform. It encompasses knowledge and understanding
● In Art, techne 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 mind, and poetry.
Every bringing forth is grounded in revealing
● Thus Heidegger here makes clear that technology is "no mere means" but a mode or
revealing, that is, of bringing forth into unconcealment - aletheia
● In this sense, techne is something poietic
● And as Heidegger emphasizes techne is also a kind of knowing or episteme.

1. Controlling technology
We seek to master technology
● I.e., as Heidegger says, we seek to "get" technology spiritually in hand. The will
to mastery becomes all the more urgent, the more technology threatens to slip
from human control
● This is problematic in the event (and Heidegger will defend this point) that
technology might be something other than a "mere means"

2. Technology as Poiesis
The essence of modern technology
● Not a bringing forth
● Instead it is what Heidegger calls a challenging forth into revealing

POIESIS
- the activity in which a person brings something into being that did not exist before
- is etymologically derived from an ancient Greek term which means to make

3. Modern Technology
● Both primitive crafts and modern technology are revealing
● But the revealing of modern technology is not a bringing forth, but a
challenging-forth.
● It challenges nature, by extracting something from it and transforming it, storing
up, distributing it, etc.

4. Setting Upon
The setting upon characteristic of modern technology challenges forth the energy of
nature as an expediting in two ways
● Unlocks and exposes
- (Physics sets nature up)
● And the economic: Maximum yield, minimum expense demands stockpiling
● The result Heidegger calls Bestand: standing reserve which is far more than
simply reserves that one happiness to have on hand
● Bestand - means "stock", "holdings", "assets", or the term Heidegger uses often,
"standing reserve"
Examples of “setting upon”
- Hydroelectric power plant
- Strip mining
 - Wind Mill
- Suleyman’s Bridge at Mostar, first built in 1566
- Heidegger’s Reference point

The Standing-Reserve
● Modern technology takes all of nature to stand in reserve for its exploitation
● Man is challenged to do this, and as such he becomes a part of the standing reserve
● Man becomes the instrument of technology, to be exploited in the ordering of nature.
● "the world has been framed as well as the standing reserve"
● is active in the case of a river once it generates electricity or the earth if revealed as a
coal mining district or the soil as a mineral deposit

Questioning as a Piety of Thought

● Normally, piety is associated with being religious.
● For Heidegger, however, piety means obedience and submission. In addressing what
technology has brought forth, one cannot help but submissive to what his/her thoughts
and reflections elicit.
● It is when we start questioning that we submit ourselves to our thoughts.
● This kind of questioning leads one to search for his/her place in the universe and in the
grand scale of things.
● It is through this process that one builds a way towards knowing the truth of who he/she
is as a being in this world.

Enframing: Way of revealing in Modern Technology

● It is not man that orders nature through technology, but more basic process of revealing
● The challenge of this revealing is called, "enframing"
● In enframing, the actual is revealed as a standing-reserve
● This is "historically" prior to the development of science ▪Enframing is the essence of
technology

ENFRAMING
● means that way of revealing that holds sway in the essence of modern technology and
that it is itself not technological
● in simple terms: it is as if nature is put in a box or in a frame so that it can be better
understood and controlled according to people's desires
● "all that has come to presence in the world has been enframed"
● Example
- Steel is produced to be used in such things as the production of automobiles,
and although steel is not the automobile, it is, nevertheless affected by the
"coming into" of the automobile itself.
Gestell
● means literally framing
● technology not comes to an end but rather a mode of human existence
● describes what lies behind or beneath modern technology
Art as a way of Enframing
● Enframing as the mode of revealing in modern technology, tends to block poiesis
● The poetry that is found in nature can no longer be easily appreciated when nature is
enframed
● Earth has become a gas station for us, then we have become enframed as well

Causality - the idea that something can cause another thing to happen or exist
● Technology brings about change causally!
● The cause is what is responsible for the effect and the effect is indebted to the cause
● The unifying notion is that of starting something on its way to arrival ▪Being responsible
is an inducing to go forward

The Four Causes ( Aristotle's exploration of the fourfold nature of causality)

1. Material Cause - causa materialis
2. Formal Cause - causa formalis
3. Final Cause - causa finalis
4. Efficient Cause - causa efficiens

Causa efficiens
● For us today this is the exclusive meaning of causality
● Heidegger explores this in terms of language (our English word is indebted to the latin
● German: Ursache, Latin, Causa, Greek aition

The craftsman– Silversmith

The four causes: Didactic Illustration

1. Silver: cause materials
2. form: cause formals
3. Purpose: (for example the ceremony of communion in the Christian religion)
4. Silversmith: cause efficiens
Human Person Swallowed by Technology
● Though it is true that the individual takes part in the revealing of nature, limits must still
be recognized.
● If we constantly plugged online and no longer have the capacity for authentic personal
encounters, then we are truly swallowed by technology.
● If we cannot let go of the inconveniences and profits brought about by processes and
industries that pollute the environment and cause climate change, then technology has
consumed our humanity

“But where danger is, grows The saving power also.”

– Friedrich Holderlin

● One must raise a further question, beyond questioning after technology to raise the
question of what Heidegger, who thinks the danger together with the notion Ge-Stell,
might mean by speaking of Holderlin’s saving power

The Saving Power

● The poet Holderlin writes that the saving power grows where danger is
● The saving would allow a bringing-forth that is not a challenging-forth (things would
reveal themselves not just as standing reserve)
● Both technology and bringing-froth grow out of “granting,” which allows revealing

“The essence of technology is nothing technological”

– Heidegger

● The essence of technology is not found in the instrumentality and function of machines
constructed, but in the significance, such technology unfolds. The various problems
brought about by human’s dependence on technology cannot be simply resolved by
refusing technology altogether.
Happiness defined:
● According to dictionary:
- Contentment, felicity imply an active or passive state of pleasure or pleasurable
satisfaction.

● Psychology
- Happiness is a mental or emotional state of well-being which can be defined by,
among others, positive or pleasant emotions ranging from contentment to intense
joy.

● Behaviorist
- Happiness is a cocktail of emotions we experience when we do something good
or positive.

● Neurologists
- Happiness is the experience of a flood of hormones released in the brain as a
reward for behavior that prolongs survival.

● The hedonistic view of well-being is that happiness is the polar opposite of suffering; the
presence of happiness indicates the absence of pain. Because of this, hedonists believe
that the purpose of life is to maximize happiness, which minimizes misery.

● Aristotle believed that human flourishing requires a life with other people. Aristotle taught
people acquire virtues through practice and that a set of concrete virtues could lead a
person toward his natural excellence an happiness.

● According to Aristotle, there is an end of all the actions that we perform which we desire
for itself. This is what us known as eudaimonia, flourishing, or happiness, which is
desired for its own sake with all other things being desired on its account.

● Eudaimonia is a property of one's life when considered as a whole. Flourishing is the

highest good of human endeavors and that toward which all actions aim. It is success as
a human being. The best life is one of excellent human activity.

Eudaimonia
- a term that combines the Greek words for "good" and "spirit" to describe the ideology.
Eudaimonia defines happiness as the pursuit of becoming a better person.
Eudaimonistic do this by challenging themselves intellectually or by engaging in activities
that make them spiritually richer people.
Aristotle’s Eudaimonia
● “good spirited” Coined by Aristotle
● Describes the pinnacle of happiness that is attainable by humans.
● “human flourishing

The The
Sweet Fulfilled
Life Life

The The
Void Dry
Life Life

From Nicomachean Ethics (philosophical inquiry into the nature of the good life for a human
being.)
- human flourishing arises as a result of different components such as
● Phronesis
● Friendship
● Wealth
● Power

● In ancient Greek society, they believe that acquiring these will surely bring the seekers
happiness, which in effect allows them to partake in the greater notion of what we call
the Good.
● As time changes, elements that comprise human flourishing changed.
● People found means to live more comfortably, explore more places, develop more
products, and make more money.
● Humans of today are expected to become “man of the world”
● Supposed to situate himself in a global neighborhood, working side by side among
institutions and the government to be able to reach a common goal.
● Competition as a means of survival has become passé.
● Coordination is the new trend.
Principle of Human flourishing
● Dignity of the Human person
- innate personal values or rights which demands respect for all people regardless
of race, social class, wealth, etc.

● Common Good
- sacrificing self-interest to provide for the basic human needs of everyone makes
the whole community flourish.

● Preferential Option for the Poor

- when decisions are made by first considering the poor.

● Subsidiarity
- when all those affected by decision are involve in making it.

● Universal Purpose of Goods

- the Earth's resources serve every person's needs, regardless of who "owns"
them.

● Stewardship of Creation
- duty to care for Earth as (God-given) gift is a personal responsibility for the
common good.

● Promotion of Peace
- Everyone has the duty to respect and collaborate in personal relationships and at
national and global levels.

● Participation
- everyone has the right and the duty to take part in the life of a society (economic,
political, cultural, religious)

● Global Solidarity
- recognition that we are all interconnected, part of one human family.
The Difference between East and West

EASTERN CONCEPTION
● focus is community-centric
● individual should sacrifice himself for the sake of society
● Chinese Confucian system
● Japanese Bushido
● Encourage studies of literature, sciences, and art for a greater cause

WESTERN CONCEPTION
● more focused on the individual
● human flourishing as an end
● Aristotelian view
● Aims for eudaimonia as the ultimate good

Therefore
● Human Flourishing
- Learning to be human through creative transformation of the self in an
ever-expanding network of relationships encompassing the family, community,
nation, and world.
❖ Inclusion in social and public life
❖ Conviviality
❖ Flourishing biosphere
❖ Distributive justice

SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND HUMAN FLOURISHING

● Every discovery, innovation, and success contributes to our pool of human knowledge.
● Human’s perpetual need to locate himself in the world by finding proofs to trace
evolution.
● Elicits our idea of self-importance
● Technology is a human activity we excel in as a result of achieving science. (Heidegger)
● Good is inherently related to the truth

SCIENCE AS METHODS AND RESULTS

● Science stems from objectivity brought upon by a rigid method
● Claim to reason and empiricism

STEPS IN SCIENTIFIC METHOD

1. Observe
2. Determine the Problem
3. Formulate hypothesis
4. Conduct experiment
5. Gather and analyze
 6. Formulate conclusion and provide recommendation
VERIFICATION AND FALSIFICATION THEORY

● VERIFICATION THEORY
- A discipline is science if it can be confirmed or interpreted in the event of an
alternative hypothesis being accepted.
- Premium on empiricism
- Takes into account those results which are measurable and experiments which
are repeatable.

● VIENNA CIRCLE
Group of scholars who believed that;
- only those which can be observed should be regarded as meaningful,
- Reject those which cannot be directly accessed as meaningless.
- Suppose, for instance, this girl, Lea has a theory that her classmate Ian likes her. Good,
she thought, I like him too. But how do I know that he likes me? She began by observing
him and his interactions with her. Several gestures she noted include his always
exchanging pleasantries with her whenever they bump into each other, his big smile
when he sees her, and him going out of his way to greet her even when riding a jeepney.
- Through these observations, she was then able to conclude that Ian does like her
because, she thought, why would anyone do something like that for a person he does
not like?
- As it turns out, however, Ian is just generally happy to meet people he knew. He had
known Lea since they were in first year and regards her as a generally okay person. It is
no surprise then that upon learning that Ian basically does this to everyone, Lea was
crushed. She vowed to herself that she would never assume again.

● FALSIFICATION THEORY
- As long as an ideology is not proven to be false and can best explain a
phenomenon over alternative theories, we should accept the said ideology.
- Allowed emergence of theories otherwise rejected by the verification theory.
- Encourages research in order to determine which among the theories can stand
the test of falsification.

● KARL POPPER
- aim at the production of new, falsifiable predictions – scientific practice is
characterized by its continual effort to test theories against experience and make
revisions based on the outcomes of these tests

- Ian is generally everybody’s friend. He likes to be around people and generally

aspires to become everybody’s friend. However, there is this one girl, Lea, who
seemed to not like him when he is around. Every time he waves at her, she turns
away, and when they are in the same room, she avoids his glances.
 - Through this he concluded that Lea does not like him and does his best to show
her that he is not a threat. He began greeting her whenever they pass by each
other at the corridor, even going so far as calling her attention when he was in the
jeepney and saw her walking past.

- When they were able to talk to each other, he found out that Lea is just really shy
and is not accustomed to people greeting her. He then was able to conclude that
his initial impression of her not liking him is wrong and thus said proposition is
rejected.

There is no known rule as to the number of instance that a theory is rejected or falsified
in order for it to be set aside.
There is no assurance that observable event or “evidences” are indeed manifestations of
a certain concept or “theories”.