BATAAN HEROES MEMORIAL COLLEGE

GE 106 SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND SOCIETY

MIDTERM TOPICS

MODULE 2 SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND SOCIETY AND THE

Topic No.1 Technology as a Way of Revealing

LEARNING OUTCOMES:
1. Differentiate the essence of technology and modern technology;
2. discuss and illustrate the dangers of modern technology; and
3. explain why art is the saving power of modern technology.

HUMAN CONDITION

THE ESSENCE OF TECHNOLOGY also encompasses knowledge and

understanding.
1. INSTRUMENTAL DEFINITION
 In art, it refers to tangible and intangible
Technology is a means to an end
aspects of life.
2. ANTHROPOLOGICAL DEFINITION
 The Greek understood techne in the way
Technology is a human activity.
that it encompasses not only craft, but
other acts of the mind, and poetry.
Bothe definitions are correct.
However, neither touches on the true TECHNOLOGY AS POIESIS: DOES
essence of technology. MODERN TECHNOLOGY BRING FORTH
OR CHALLENGE FORTH?
HEIDEGGER’S VIEW ON TECHNOLOGY
 Heidegger, in The Question Concerning
 Technology as a Way of Revealing
Technology, postulated that both
 Heidegger stressed that the true can only
primitive crafts and modern technology
be pursued through the correct. Simply
are revealing. However, he explained
what is correct leads to what is true. In
that modern technology is revealing not
this sense, he envisioned technology as
in the sense of bringing forth.
a way of revealing – a mode of bringing
 Revealing of modern technology is not a
forth.
bringing-forth, but a challenging-forth.
 Bringing forth can be understood
 Modern technology challenges nature by
through the Ancient Greek philosophical
extracting something from it and
concept, Poiesis, which refers to the act
transforming, storing and distributing it. It
of bringing something out of
makes people think how to do things
concealment. By bringing something out
faster, more effectively, and with less
of concealment, the truth of that
effort.
something is revealed.
 Challenging forth reduces objects as
 The truth is understood through another
standing-reserve or something to be
Ancient Greek concept of Aletheia, which
disposed of by those who enframe them-
is translated as unclosedness,
humans.
unconcealedness, disclosure, or truth.
 This is evident in the way people
Technology is a form of poiesis- a way of exploit natural resources with very
revealing that unconceals aletheia or the little concern for the ecological
truth. consequences that come with it.
 In the information age- greater control
 In philosophy, techne resembles the
of information to profit from its value
term episteme that refer to the human
gives rise to concerns about privacy
ability to make and perform. Techne
and the protection of human rights.

1
  Rise and depletion of petroleum as a
strategic resource
 Introduction and use of synthetic
dyes, artificial flavorings, and toxic
materials into the consumer stream
that bring about adverse effects on
human health.
 Use of ripening agents in agriculture
that poses threats to food safety and
health security.
ENFRAMING AS MODERN
TECHNOLOGY’S WAY OF
REVEALING
 Heidegger distinguished the way of
revealing of modern technology by
considering it as a process of
enframing.
 Enframing, according to Heidegger,
is akin to two ways:
1. CALCULATIVE THINKING-
humans desire to put an order to
nature to better understand and
control it.
- tends to be more commonly utilized,
primarily because humans’ desire to
control due to their fear of irregularity.
- Calculative thinking is the more
technical kind of human thought, in
which people gather information and
put it together in order to put it to
some specific use.
2. MEDITATIVE THINKING- humans
allow nature to reveal itself to them
without the use of force or violence.
 Enframing, is a way of ordering (or
framing) nature to better manipulate it.
Enframing happens because of how
humans desire for security, even it pulls all
of nature as a standing reserve and an
instrument of technology, to be exploited in
the ordering of nature.
 The role of humans take as instruments of
technology through enframing is called
destining.
 In destining, humans are challenged forth
by enframing to reveal what is real.
However, this destining of humans to
reveal nature carries with it the danger of
misconstruction or misinterpretation.
THE DANGERS OF TECHNOLOGY
 Lie on how humans let themselves be
consumed by it. The responsibility of
humans is to recognize how they become
instruments of technology.
 According to Paulo Coelho, it is boastful
for humans to think that nature needs to
be saved, whereas Mother Nature would
remain even if human cease to exist.
 As a mere tenant on Earth, people must
not allow themselves to be consumed by
technology lest they lose the essence of
who they are as human beings. In this
sense, humans are in danger of
becoming merely part of the standing
reserve or, alternatively, may find
themselves in nature.
 Recognizing the dangers of technology
requires critical and reflective thinking on
it use. For instance,
 Social media has indeed connected
people in the most efficient and
convenient way imaginable, but it also
inadvertently gave rise to issues such
as invasion of privacy, online
disinhibition, and proliferation of fake
news.
ART AS THE SAVING POWER
 Necessary reflection upon and
confrontation with technology are
required in order to proactively address
the dangers of technology.
 “But where danger is, grows the saving
power also” – Friedrich Holderlin (1977,
p.14)
 Heidegger proposed art as the saving
power and the way out enframing: “and
art was simply called techne. It was a
single, manifold revealing” (1977, p.18)
Art encourages human to think less from
calculative standpoint where nature is viewed
as an ordered system. Instead, it inspires
meditative thinking where nature is seen an art
and that without any force and violence.
2
3