The Human Person flourishing in

terms of science and technology

(Part I)

week 5
THE QUESTION CONCERNING
TECHNOLOGY
Martin Heirdegger
e. • German Philosopher (1889-1976)
• ‘’The Question Concerning Technology’ is his
1953 revison of a speech he gave in 1950 entitled
‘’the enframing’’
• Historical background: The Atrocities of World
War II
le. e.
Heidegger’s analysis of technology in
The Question Concerning
Technology consists of three main
‘claims’:

01 technology is “not an instrument”, it is

a way of understanding the world

02 technology is “not a human activity”, but

develops
beyond human control;

03 and technology is “the highest danger”,

risking us to only
see the world through technological thinking.
Heidegger is a notoriously difficult
philosopher to read
“Technology is not
equivalent to the The essence of technology is by no means
essence of anything technological. Everywhere we remain
unfree and chained to technology, whether we
technology" passionately
affirm or deny it. But we are delivered over to it
in the worst possible way when we
regard it as something neutralal.
TWO COMMON CONCEPTS OF
THE ESSENCE OF TECHNOLOGY
Heidegger says they belong together and are
obviously correct but not necessarily true

1. Means to an end 2. A human activity

(The instrumental definition of
technology)
tools, equipment, machines, and
other things manufatured to serve
specific ends and needs.
(The Anthropological definition of
technology)
humans use technology to ‘’posit
ends and procure and utize the
means to them’’
 Technology has become a subject of philosophers. To this day,
there are several philosophical views on technology. They include:
e.
1 Aristotelianism (Aristotle)
-According to Aristotle, technology is basically a means to an
end. It is organizing
techniques in order to meet the demand that is being posed
by humans.

1. Causa Materialis or the Material Cause – the

material by which it is made of

2. Causa Formalis or the Formal Cause – the

form or shape of the material

3. Causa Finalis or the Final Cause – the purpose

or the primary use of the
material

4. Causa Efficiens or the Efficient Cause – the

agent that has caused for the
material to come about
2 Technological Pessimism (Jacques Ellul –
French Philosopher, 1912-1994)

-Ellul believes that technology has become a way of

life. The said techniques have
become a framework which humans cannot escape.
He has several pessimistic
arguments, such as technology progress having a
price to pay, it creates more
problems, damaging effects, and as well as
unpredictable devastating effects.
3 Technological Optimism (strongly supported
by technologists and engineers)

-If there is a pessimist side, then there is also the

optimist side. This philosophy
believes that technology can alleviate all the
difficulties and provide solutions for
problems that may come..
4 Existentialism (Martin Heidegger)

This is the view on the article read above in the

activity. This view basically
investigates on the meaning of existence or being and
is always faced with the
selection one must make with which the existent will
commit himself to
 Martin Heidegger’s Views on Technology
Martin Heidegger (1889-1996) is a well-known German philosopher. He questioned the
Aristotelian and Ellulian definitions of technology (a means to an end, a human activity).
Technology has been instrumentally viewed as the same in all periods of time, geared
towards meeting a human need. It invites man to a continual desire to master it which
unconsciously making it go out of hand. Everything depends on manipulating
e.

technology in a proper manner as a means.

 But for Heidegger, the real essence of technology is found in enframing. It is the
continuous bringing forth of the concealed to unconcealment - a non-stop revealing. It
continues to demand for something to be brought out into the open. The concealed is
calling out for someone to set upon and act upon to unconceal the concealed.
e.
 But for Heidegger, the real essence of technology is found in enframing. It is the
continuous bringing forth of the concealed to unconcealment - a non-stop revealing. It
continues to demand for something to be brought out into the open. The concealed is
calling out for someone to set upon and act upon to unconceal the concealed.
 For modern technology, Heidegger viewed it as being revealed by
challenging natureinstead of bringing forth. it is setting upon challenges or
demands on nature in order to

a) unlock and expose, carrying the idea that nature will not reveal itself unless
challengeis set upon it; and e.

b) stock pile for future use, aiming to meet the future demands
Synthesis: When one looks around now, s/he will see that people tend to find
their happiness in the works of modern technology. Smart phones, tablets,
laptops, etc. that come in different shapes and sizes with distinct features
seem to be the measure of a person’s value. Social media has also affected
the lives of many. Face-to-face social interactions are being lessened and
people keep working hard to update their gadgets. There seems to be no
contentment as every time a new product is released. People find another
need that can only be answered by a new product. These new products also
e.

tend to replace people in the society as the demand for manual labors is
becoming less and less because of the availability of machineries.