IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Summer 2013 - 14

H

eidegger's reading of
the essence of Technik is beset with
a fatal ambiguity
between technology
and technique, which can be traced
back further to an ambiguity lodged
in the heart of Aristotle's metaphysical concept of power. This
unresolved ambiguity, in turn, is
intimately related to the historical
cover-up of the twofold in the manifold of being between whatness
(quiddity) and whoness (quissity).
This cover-up is exposed using the
example of the art of rhetoric. ultimately the fog has to lift from the
clearing to see, through adequate

of questioning Technik, and the
lecture itself is known under the
correct English title, "The Question Concerning Technology."
But there is a problem with this
rendering in English of the German
word "Technik," for not only can it
mean "technology" in the sense
of applied science, of know-how
employed in modern industry that
results in typical products of industrial society such as power plants,
expressways, jet turbines, powerful
computers, telecommunications,
etc., but it embraces also the spectrum of meanings covering everything we understand in English by
the word "technique." "Technique"

Heidegger's reading of the essence
of Technik is beset with a fatal
ambiguity between technology
and technique.
ontological concepts, that and how
all beings are in estimating interplay with one another (the much
abused phenomenon of value) and
above all, that human beings strive
to be somewho in a free power play
with each other.

A Questionable
Ambiguity in "Technik"
"Im folgenden fragen wir nach der
Technik." This is the opening line
to one of Martin Heidegger's most
widely read and influential papers,
"Die Frage nach der Technik," first
presented in 1953 in Munich. The
"fragen" is italicized to emphasize
that the auditors now have to let fall
all their preconceptions and prejudices and truly allow a question to
arise that radically interrogates.
This first line is correctly translated
into English as "In the following
we will pose the question concerning technology," where the word
question is now italicized. This
translation is entirely adequate to
Heidegger's intention in the lecture
14

|

encompasses not merely all sorts of
"techniques" of industrial processing, but the techniques of making
love, of cookery, of flattery, of persuasion, seduction and self-presentation, of play-acting, leadership
and inspiring crowds, of marketing
and "selling" issues and projects,
of piano-playing, painting, filmmaking, dancing, and so on. The
phenomenon of technique is much,
much more pervasive in our world
than that associated merely with
"technology." "Technique" is a
synonym of "art," such as the art of
persuasion or of advertising, and an
art is distinguished from science,
which is well-founded knowledge.
Since technique is associated
with art, the possible rendering of
German "Technik" as "technique"
would come down on the opposite side to "Technik" understood
as "technology," i.e., applied science, as we are familiar with it as
a hallmark phenomenon in today's
world. Nevertheless, as I have said,
the rendering of German "Technik"

as "technology" instead of "technique" is correct in the sense of the
intentions of Heidegger's lecture,
for Heidegger clearly has the phenomenon of technology in view,
and the lecture was presented in
a series of lectures organized by
the Bavarian Academy of Fine
Arts under the title "The Arts in
the Technological Age." It would
make little sense to translate the
title "The Arts in the Age of Technique" for we do not recognize ourselves in a mirror called the Age of
Technique.
Despite the correctness and adequacy of the translation of German
"Technik" as "technology," there
is still a problem insofar as we
take the lecture's opening line at
its word: "In the following we will
pose the question concerning Technik," for if this question is to be radically open and without prejudice,
the path of thinking pursued in
the lecture must deal also with the
issue as to why "Technik" is rendered as "technology" rather than
"technique" in the sense of "art."
But if we read the opening pages
of Heidegger's lecture, we find no
engagement with the issue of the
broad, ambiguous meaning of the
German word "Technik." rather,
it is tacitly assumed that "Technik"
is to be understood guided by the
"instrumental notion" (VuA:10[3])
of a power that "challenges forth"
(cf. VuA:18). One could well say
that this is not a problem because
it is obvious that the issue facing
us today is technology, and not
some alternative dictionary meaning as "technique" put forward by
a pedant, but then the prejudice of
obviousness would be in play rather
than genuine questioning, and the
question would be partially foreclosed from the outset. Questioning demands an open mind and,
because human minds are open,
they can be also, and often are,
closed.
Of course, Heidegger is not concerned merely with a definition of
technology but with its "essence"

IEEE TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY MAGAZINE

|

SuMMEr 2013



Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Summer 2013

IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Summer 2013 - Cover1
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Summer 2013 - Cover2
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Summer 2013 - 1
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Summer 2013 - 2
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Summer 2013 - 3
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Summer 2013 - 4
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Summer 2013 - 5
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Summer 2013 - 6
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Summer 2013 - 7
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Summer 2013 - 8
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Summer 2013 - 9
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Summer 2013 - 10
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Summer 2013 - 11
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Summer 2013 - 12
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Summer 2013 - 13
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Summer 2013 - 14
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Summer 2013 - 15
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Summer 2013 - 16
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Summer 2013 - 17
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Summer 2013 - 18
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Summer 2013 - 19
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Summer 2013 - 20
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Summer 2013 - 21
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Summer 2013 - 22
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Summer 2013 - 23
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Summer 2013 - 24
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Summer 2013 - 25
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Summer 2013 - 26
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Summer 2013 - 27
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Summer 2013 - 28
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Summer 2013 - 29
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Summer 2013 - 30
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Summer 2013 - 31
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Summer 2013 - 32
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Summer 2013 - 33
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Summer 2013 - 34
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Summer 2013 - 35
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Summer 2013 - 36
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Summer 2013 - 37
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Summer 2013 - 38
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Summer 2013 - 39
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Summer 2013 - 40
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Summer 2013 - 41
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Summer 2013 - 42
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Summer 2013 - 43
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Summer 2013 - 44
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Summer 2013 - 45
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Summer 2013 - 46
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Summer 2013 - 47
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Summer 2013 - 48
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Summer 2013 - 49
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Summer 2013 - 50
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Summer 2013 - 51
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Summer 2013 - 52
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Summer 2013 - 53
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Summer 2013 - 54
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Summer 2013 - 55
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Summer 2013 - 56
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Summer 2013 - 57
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Summer 2013 - 58
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Summer 2013 - 59
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Summer 2013 - 60
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Summer 2013 - 61
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Summer 2013 - 62
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Summer 2013 - 63
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Summer 2013 - 64
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Summer 2013 - 65
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Summer 2013 - 66
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Summer 2013 - 67
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Summer 2013 - 68
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Summer 2013 - 69
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Summer 2013 - 70
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Summer 2013 - 71
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Summer 2013 - 72
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Summer 2013 - 73
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Summer 2013 - 74
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Summer 2013 - 75
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Summer 2013 - 76
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Summer 2013 - 77
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Summer 2013 - 78
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Summer 2013 - 79
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Summer 2013 - 80
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Summer 2013 - Cover3
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Summer 2013 - Cover4
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_september2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_june2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_march2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_december2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_september2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_june2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_march2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_december2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_september2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_june2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_march2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_december2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_september2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_june2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_march2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_december2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_september2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_june2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_march2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_december2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_september2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_june2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_march2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_winter2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_fall2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_summer2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_spring2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_winter2016
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_fall2016
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_summer2016
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_spring2016
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_winter2015
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_fall2015
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_summer2015
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_spring2015
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_winter2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_fall2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_summer2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_spring2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_winter2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_fall2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_summer2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ieee/technologysociety_spring2013
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com