PositiveStrength5694

PositiveStrength5694 t1_itr4l7h wrote

That's an interesting point. I think it might be because it is also a certain conquering of nature, an impressive scientific accomplishment of physics make an iron bird fly. I think telescopes, missions to the moon and certain other technological projects in the name of discovery or merely accomplishments (e.g. the space race) can maybe not be as accurately described by this and provide a different category of technology all together. Heidegger, in his "the question concerning technology" talks about demanding resources from nature, but I do not see how a telescope is demanding anything.

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PositiveStrength5694 t1_itpylzp wrote

Not sure if it does, nor does Heidegger himself ever suggest it, this essence of technology could be present in, and I think could be argued to have been, present in all industrialized nations, regardless of what economic system they used, at the time of Heidegger's writing.

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PositiveStrength5694 t1_itpu7an wrote

I believe it might be more accurate to not talk about technology but the essence of technology, as that is what Heidegger is really interested in. Furthermore saying that "everything is now measured by its instrumental value" seems to slightly misrepresent the phenomenological relation we now have, how things are not merely seen or measured as, but ARE only its instrumental value. A stationary airplane is no longer an airplane that can move an x amount of people, but becomes ONLY the potential of this transport of people.

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PositiveStrength5694 t1_itbfacg wrote

Personally, I can think of many things this kind of thinking can help us with. For instance in terms of political and institutional decision making, many decisions are made on a time span of an election cycle or for the next consensus, because that is the thing politicians are rated on. If we look at political decisions, there are many that are obviously beneficial for the next couple years and harmful in 10 years or future generations, and many times one can easily think of an alternative that benefits the now less, but is much less harmful or even beneficial for the future. E.g. the rate on sovereign debt most countries take on is completely irrational when looking at the expected results of decisions to take on more debt today on a time span of even 20 years. Now I do not expect people to start to think in centuries or longer time spans, but if decisions we taken looking at a more long-term time span that would already provide a better would for our children and their children and their children ...

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