Module 3 Science Technology Society AND THE Human Condition PDF

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Module 3: SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY SOCIETY AND THE HUMAN CONDITION Introduction/Overview This module contains two topics – The Technology as a Way of Revealing and The Human Person Flourishing in Progress and De-development. The first lesson will discuss the essence of technology as presented by Martin Heidegger (1889-1976), in his discourse in The Question Concerning Technology (1977). Here we shall engage in reflecting about the dangers that modern technology poses, and art as its saving power. The second lesson, we transition from a philosopher (Martin Heidegger) to an anthropologist, Jason Hickel. Let us find out how science and technology explained by a philosopher and an anthropologist.

Lesson 1- Technology as a Way of Revealing Martin Heidegger (1889-1976) was a German philosopher who embraced the Continental tradition of philosophy. One of his famous quotes about technology represents an irony. Heidegger said, “The essence of technology is by no means anything technological.” He opposed positivism. He, therefore, believed that philosophy and the study of social sciences should not strive to measure human social life in terms of quantity (gross domestic product, net income, etc). Sociology, philosophy, and other social sciences should investigate in terms of quality. Hence, to engage in a true and correct understanding of technology, the goal should be to question and look into its (qualitative) essence.

Heidegger’s key concepts revolve around ontology, or the study of “being” (dasein in German), “forgetfulness of being” (seinsvergessenheit), and “rootedness-insoil” (bodenstandigkeit). His philosophical works are often described as complicated, and so a weblink to a five-minute Youtube video entitled, The Philosophy of Martin Heidegger, is cited below in the references. It is important to understand his basic concepts and his philosophy to better make use of his valuable framework.

The whole philosophy of Heidegger focuses on the role of ethics and social morality in the very essence and definition of technology. In his treatise, The Question Concerning Technology, he emphasized the two definitions of technology: (1) Instrumental and (2) Anthropological. The first definition states that “technology is a means to an end”, while the second definition asserts “technology is a human activity”.

In the context of the first definition (instrumental definition), technology is seen as a tool whose function varies according to individual goals and collective aspirations. Alternatively, for the second definition (anthropological definition), technology is a human activity to produce, invent, and achieve. To Heidegger, however, neither definition touches on the true essence of technology.

3.1. Technology is a Way of Revealing and Challenging Forth

According to Heidegger, technology is a mode of “bringing forth” or poeisis (Greek). By bringing something forth or out of concealment, the truth (aletheia) of that something is revealed. Truth is translated as unclosedness, unconcealedness, or disclosure. In philosophy, techne (the Greek root word of technology) resembles the term episteme, which refers to the human ability to make and perform, including knowledge and understanding also. While in art, techne refers to both 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.

Both primitive crafts and modern technology are revealing, according to Heidegger. However, he explained that modern technology is revealing not in the sense of bringing forth. Modern technology “challenges” nature, by extracting something from it, transforming, storing, and distributing it. Modern technology is “challenging forth” because it prompts people into manipulating and enframing the earth’s natural resources with very little concern for its ecological consequences (threats to human health, food safety, etc).

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.

Enframing is, therefore, modern technology’s way of revealing and ordering (or framing). It is akin to two ways of looking at the world: calculative thinking and meditative thinking. In the former, humans put an order to nature to better understand it and exploit it. In the latter, humans allow nature to reveal itself to them without the use of force or violence. The former tends to be more commonly used.

Ironically, as a consequence, humans become exploited also as an instrument of technology. This process is called destining. This destining of humans to reveal the nature carries with it the danger of misconstruction or misinterpretation.

3.2. The Dangerous Modern Technology and the Way Out of It

The Dangerous Modern Technology and the Way Out of It It is the responsibility of humans to recognize how they have become exploited as instruments by the dangerous modern technology (for example, invasion of privacy and proliferation of fake news). 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 humans. This requires critical and reflective thinking on the use of technology. Hence, Heidegger

reminded us that the worst human view to have is to regard technology as neutral and to pay homage to it without recognizing the real threat of the essence of modern technology (enframing and designing). As we quoted earlier from Heidegger, the essence of technology is not neutral, and by no means anything technological.

The way out of enframing is the art (techne or poetry). Art is the saving power, said Heidegger, because it is an act of mind which had great power over the truth. Art encourages us to think less from a calculative standpoint. It inspires meditative thinking.

Humans need to re-assess who they were, are, and will, in the grand scheme of things. Heidegger emphasized the importance of questioning. It is only through questioning that we are able to re-assess our positions in the midst of technology.

Lesson 2 – The Human Person Flourishing in Progress and De-development In this lesson, let us transition from a philosopher (Martin Heidegger) to an anthropologist, Jason Hickel. De-development is the key concept in Hickel’s development framework. This is an alternative framework to narrowing the gap between the rich and poor countries. This is also a critique about human flourishing vis-à-vis progress in science and technology.

Humans must ask themselves whether they are indeed flourishing, individually or collectively. Hickel criticized the failure of growth and development efforts to eradicating poverty. He offered a non-conformist framework of de-developing.

Orthodox economists insist that all we need is yet more growth. More progressive analysts propose shifting the wealth to poorer nations to even things out. Hickel believed that neither approach is adequate. Moreover, he pointed out that we have been overshooting our planet’s biocapacity by more than 50% each year. In other words, growth is not an option anymore because we have grown too much already. This global crisis, Hickel said, is due almost entirely to overconsumption in rich countries. Furthermore, he held that we should look at societies where people live long and happy lives at relatively low levels of income and consumption. Costa Rica, a low-level income country, for example, manages to sustain one of the highest happiness indicators and life expectancies in the world. Perhaps, according to Hickel, such countries should not be regarded as underdeveloped, but rather as “appropriately developed”.

In light of this, Hickel proposed a re-orientation towards a truer form of progress ---one that is geared toward quality (happiness and well-being), instead of quantity (GDP and net income). He recommended alternative visions around the concept of good living. A

shorter working week, for example, would improve our lives while reducing consumption also.

Re-thinking our theory of progress is not only an ecological imperative, it is also a developmental imperative. Mass famine might re-emerge and food systems might collapse. Either we slow down voluntarily, or the laws of nature will do it for us. Hickel’s discourse is about reaching a higher level of understanding and consciousness about what we are doing on Earth and why. We cannot go on ignoring the laws of nature....