Being-in-the-world as a critique modernity and the essence of technology

Abstract

This work describes two critiques of Martin Heidegger - his critique of modernity and his critique of the essence of technology. These two critiques are here presented as revolving around the subject/object dichotomy. This dichotomy basically means that we are subjects who are logically independent of the world. This dichotomy is a central assumption of the modernist philosophy of Rene Descartes. Modernity, as understood here, refers to the scientific spirit of Descartes (not exclusively his). Descartes conceived the world as a collection of substances, a world that can be best apprehended through mathematical physics. In Heidegger's work, Being and Time, Descartes is a central target. The subject/object dichotomy persisted in our contemporary age, and is today best expressed through technological or instrumental reasoning. By conceiving ourselves as subjects that are opposed to objects, we feel impelled to control the world, to aggressively manipulate it. Akin to the subject/object dichotomy is the spectatorial premise. This means assuming that our primary relationship with the world is that of a subject knowing its object. A lot of my criticism will focus on this premise. Instrumental rationality is not the only consequence of the subject/object dualism. Another consequence of this dualism is alienation. If we consider ourselves to be logically separate from the world, then we feel that we are inessential to the constitution of the world, and that the world is inessential to our own constitution. We feel alien to the world. In this work, I will only treat one consequence of the subject/object split, instrumental rationality (I will treat it briefly), but the first part of this work, can be seen as tackling both instrumental rationality and alienation, because if we authentically realise that we are one with the world, than neither of the consequences would be a possibility. When treating technological rationality, I will focus on Heidegger's critique of the essence of technology, and his idea that art can grow into a saving power. My dissertation draws from both early and later Heideggerian sources. In the first part of this work (up to chapter seven), I will rely heavily on what Heidegger says in Being and Time. His criticism is a positive one, in the sense that he criticizes modernity (represented by the philosophy of Descartes) by presenting an alternative description of our relationship with the world, i.e. Being-in-the-world. In the second part of my work (chapters eight and nine) I will present some of Heidegger' s later ideas. The combining of the early and the later Heidegger is based on the idea (and even the belief) that although Heidegger changed some of his ideas throughout his life, one can still discern certain continuity in his work. In chapter one, I will introduce the context which characterizes the world in which Heidegger was writing. My focus will be on the relationship between his philosophy and the philosophy of Husserl. Heidegger can be seen as both an heir and a critic to Husserl. Then I will proceed to chapter two, where I will contrast Heidegger and Descartes. Descartes' philosophy is seen as standing between Husserl and true phenomenology, since the latter assumed some presuppositions of the former (Husserl accepted the modernist project of certainty). In the third chapter, I will then focus on Heidegger's understanding of world. Heidegger's understanding differs from that of Descartes in that the latter conceived the world as a collection of substances (viewed in a scientific manner), while the former viewed the world phenomenologically. In chapter four, I will then briefly discuss Dasein's social context. This is not directly connected to the subject/object dichotomy, but is briefly introduced to give a more complete picture of Heidegger's philosophy. In chapter five, I will then discuss the nature of Dasein understood as Being-in. This will be a long discussion. This discussion will be aimed at dissolving the dichotomy of mood versus reason. One has to keep in mind that such a dichotomy is a consequence of the subject/object dichotomy. Once we conceive ourselves as logically separate from the world, we then assume the spectatorial stance, and as a consequence we tend to regard moods as hindering a clear understanding of the world. For Heidegger, moods are vehicles of understanding. In chapter six I will discuss care and anxiety. The latter is used by Heidegger to infer the former. Care is important in Heidegger because it expresses our Being. We are beings who care about their existence and the existence. of other beings. Unlike Descartes, Heidegger does not provide a dry scientific description of our relationship with the world. In chapter seven, I will briefly discuss authenticity. This, once again is not directly connected with the subject/object dichotomy. But it is important, first because it gives a clearer picture of Heidegger's philosophy. Second one can say that the subject/object split is itself an inauthentic state of Dasein. In chapter eight, I will introduce technology, and discuss it in relation to Heidegger's later idea of the history of Being. Finally, I will offer Heidegger's solution to the essence of technology, art.