Phenomenological understanding of technology by M. Heidegger (on the material of the article “The Question Concerning Technology”)

Abstract

The article discusses one of the most famous works of M. Heidegger “The Question Con­cerning Technology”. Difficulties in understanding the theoretical provisions of this article are noted, and the task is to “disenchant” these provisions. In this regard, the main principles of phenomenological thinking are discussed: historicity, vitality, non-premises, orientation of consciousness to objectivity, etc. A reconstruction of the process of building the begin­ning of the essence of technology, based on these principles and Heidegger’s background, is proposed. Such a beginning includes the process of bringing the unhidden into open­ness, which is concretized at two levels – ancient culture and modernity. The author notes the connection of this construction with the Heideggerian category of being. It analyzes how, on the basis of the constructed beginning, Heidegger introduces the concept of technol­ogy as a “setup” and outlines the way to resolve the problem of the power of technology. As a free being, a person can think through what is happening, understand his essence as a person and, perhaps, find a way out of the danger that threatens him. The story of the set­ting suggests a way out: one of the essential aspects of ancient technology is poetry, art; will it not be possible to save ourselves by resuming the poiesis of technology at a new level? The author sketches out his ideas about technology, and also lists its main types: technology as the manufacture of tools, as magic, as engineering, as technology, as a technical environ­ment, as a living techno-social planetary organism (Internet). The article ends with the au­thor’s comments, including a discussion of some limitations of Heidegger’s approach and an indication of the whole (culture, sociality, technogenic civilization), the analysis of which, in the author’s opinion, should allow a more comprehensive understanding of technology.