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Module 3 Science Technology Society AND THE Human
Condition
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 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-in-
soil” (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.
