BERNARDINO, VINCE DAVE A.

REALITY AND MORALITY:

On Technology by Martin Heiddeger

INTRODUCTION:

It is a kind of a surprise to know and realize that Heiddeger did talk about technology
with all our knowledge of our modern world. Who would have thought that such a Philosopher
would even talk about technology? Martin Heidegger was one of the existentialist thinkers
whose work, Zein und Zeit, has made about a major impact on the world. The philosopher we
once knew who talked about existentialism and Being is now on a thinking on technology. What
is really the idea as to why Heidegger pursued this philosophy on the significance of technology.

TECHNOLOGY AND REALITY

Heidegger’s idea on technology is stated when he said that technology is a means to an

end, as well as, a human activity. Technology is a means to an end basically means that objects,
technologically, have a propensity of making work even easier and it makes such burdens lighter.
In our modern era, technology is seen as a part of our modern reality that makes such things
easier and makes us evolve in a way that makes us even more adept in making things the easy
way instead of our old primitive ways. Technology has indeed made this world a better place to
live in and an easier and uncomplicated life it is.

Technology, for Heidegger, is a means of trying to reveal something about this world. we
can then relate this to the Aristotelian Four Causes: The initial, formal, efficient, and final cause.
We take for example a tree. The initial cause is the tree and we plan to make a table and this is its
formal cause. The tree cannot bring a table out of its own thus an efficient cause is needed which
is the carpenter that brings about the table, the final cause. Thus, in this sense we can see that
there is unconcealment, a revelation. Not only that it offers us the realization that a tree can
become a table but we can conclude that with technology we can see that this world has much to
offer. This world is raw and we have to unconceal its very reality through technology. Thus, for
Heiddeger, technology, contrary to our modern conceptions as making work easier, is merely a
BERNARDINO, VINCE DAVE A.

means to reveal to all men that this world is raw and has its own secrets that are needed to be
uncovered.

Such discoveries bring about change, a paradigm shift to all people. Discoveries and
innovations are really products of technology in a sense that it reveals something about how the
world is. It reveals about the hidden mysteries of the world that needs to be unraveled. That is the
beauty of Technology: it offers us a way to know reality.

ON MORALITY

We can see that technology and this world is likened to the transition of caterpillar,
through metamorphosis, to a beautiful butterfly. The world is a caterpillar and through
metamorphosis it shows the reality that it can become a butterfly. But what if the world is a
lizard and it can be unleashed into a deadly dinosaur. We couldn’t imagine a world that we think
is a better place turn into something chaotic.

The problem on technology that as much as it shows something about reality it also
shows a dark reality that we have to deal with. Technology reveals something and makes the
world a better place but it also makes the world chaotic. We can discover certain objects and turn
them into deadly weapons such as the atomic bomb, guns, and anything that can harm life.
Technology reveals that truth, that it can show us a way to infiltrate human condition. How much
does it cost to discover something that could bring about the destruction the human race?
Technology does not only deal with the objects we see but it also includes humans. Human
experimentation is one of the most disturbing phenomena that happen in this world. Technology,
if abused, is a master to us. We become slaves. The problem with technology is that it becomes a
part of human living rather a means of making life easier. Are humans to be treated as objects?

CONCLUSION

Technology plays a great role in the improvement pf the world but technology have its
own capabilities that could put our morale into question. Technology has that propensity to
BERNARDINO, VINCE DAVE A.

reveal something about reality but it gives us a weakness by becoming slaves to it, makes us
question our morals, and might bring about a chaotic world.

Heidegger’s essay on technology is one of the key proponents into understanding the
world now with the problems we face in the modern era. His philosophy on technology has
brought upon the world a better understanding about technology. But not that it only talks about
technology but deep down inside the very essence of his essays is also a call to existentialism. It
invites us to see properly how the world works. His essay does not only make us question about
technology but it also makes us realize how life is ought to live. Thus, Heidegger, in this essay
makes a contribution on our day-to-day living.