Heidegger's The Concern On Technology

2145 Words9 Pages

1. In some sense, most authors of the European tradition since the Renaissance have tended to make ‘humanity’ the measure of all things. But, they have disagreed on whether humans have some basic unchanging essence or nature, whether we are capable of radical progress and improvement, or whether what we call ‘humanity’ can itself be erased and destroyed, with the God-like worship of humanity being itself a step in this direction.

The authors which I will be discussing in this essay are Pico della Mirandola, John Stuart Mill, Karl Marx and Martin Heidegger and how their views on humanity differ from each other. From Pico della Mirandola we learn that he disagreed with how humans were viewed during the Renaissance time period in the text he …show more content…

“Everywhere we remain unfree and chained to technology, whether we passionately affirm or deny it. But we are delivered over to it in the worst possible way when we regard it as something neutral; for this conception of it, to which today we particularly like to do homage, makes us utterly blind to the essence of technology” (4, Heidegger). This quote shows us that although technology is so prevalent in our lives we miss the true meaning of what it is. He then proceeds to say that the question which we ask ourselves is what it is and the two answers to that question are “Technology is a means to an end. The other says: Technology is a human activity” (4, Heidegger). The reason why he questions technology is because the relationship between humans and nature has changed into a master and servant bond. He wants to break through the chains which technology has bound the people and to get a better understanding of its …show more content…

The question concerning technology, and other essays
In-text: (Heidegger)
Your Bibliography: Heidegger, Martin. The Question Concerning Technology, And Other Essays. New York: Harper & Row, 1977. Print.

MILL, J. S.
On liberty
In-text: (Mill)
Your Bibliography: Mill, John Stuart. On Liberty. Raleigh, N.C.: Alex Catalogue. Print.

PICO DELLA MIRANDOLA, G. AND CAPONIGRI, A. R.
Oration on the dignity of man
In-text: (Pico della Mirandola and Caponigri)
Your Bibliography: Pico della Mirandola, Giovanni and A. Robert Caponigri. Oration On The Dignity Of Man. Washington, D.C.: Regnery Pub., 1998. Print.

MARX, K., ENGELS.
The Communist Manifesto (orig. 1848), Sections I-II in The Marx-Engels Reader, 473-491, In-text: (Mar)
Your Bibliography: Marx, Karl et al. The Communist Manifesto (orig. 1848), Sections I-II in The Marx-Engels Reader,

Open Document