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Part III. The Danger in Modern Technology
- State University of New York Press
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127 Part III The Danger in Modern Technology The general rubric under which Heidegger presents his essay on technology is that of a questioning, an asking. Yet the sense of the questioning —and of the possible answering—is by no means unproblematic. What sort of questioning is taking place in this essay, and what kind of answer is being sought? Asking about and asking for The title of the essay is “Die Frage nach der Technik.” We could say simply, “The question about technology,” and it is in this straightforward sense that the published translation renders the title: “The question concerning technology.” In this sense, the essay is an inquiry into technology; technology is the theme, which is to say that the aim is to discover something about technology. For Heidegger, of course, a philosophical inquiry always asks about the essence, and so what the essay seeks to determine about technology is its essence. The essay attempts to bring to light the essence of technology or, more particularly, the essence of modern technology . To answer the question is then precisely to bring this essence into the light; the question would be answered when we are able to see the essence in an adequate light. Our commentary has now reached the point in “Die Frage nach der Technik” where the essay is—in this straightforward sense of questioning and answering—complete. Insofar as the question concerns technology, insofar as technology itself is the theme, the question has been answered. The essence of modern technology has been brought to light as composing , as an all-encompassing imposition. On the other hand, the title of Heidegger’s essay can also be taken in a different, more subtle sense. The title could be translated to mean not an “asking about” or a “questioning concerning” but instead an “asking for” technology, in the sense in which we ask for some person, ask to see or speak to someone. When a German businesswoman returns to the office from lunch, she might say, “Hat jemand nach mir gefragt?” That does not mean, “Has anyone been trying to discover things about me?” but rather, “Has anyone asked for me?”, “Has anyone called wishing to speak to me?” The theme, the concern, that for which this asking would be undertaken, is not at all the person asked for but is instead some interest of the one who does the asking. Presumably the caller is not inquiring into the essence of the businesswoman, and the businesswoman herself will not be the focus of the conversation. Instead, the caller wishes to speak to the businesswoman about his own concerns. The focus of the ensuing interview will be the questioner, some personal affair of the inquirer . The questioner in this sense is actually a petitioner and not a mere theoretical inquirer. He asks the businesswoman to present herself because it is his relation to her, or to her business, that concerns him. He seeks out the businesswoman on account of some interest of his own. That is, he does not merely want to see and meet the businesswoman but precisely to discuss business. If we take Heidegger’s title in this sense of “asking for,” then it does not at all mean “the question concerning technology.” The question does not concern technology; it concerns the questioner, Dasein. To answer the question is then not simply to bring the essence of modern technology into the light but, rather, to resolve thereby some issue of pressing interest to Dasein. Taken in this respect, the essay is now by no means complete . We have merely brought the essence of modern technology into the light, we have let the essence of modern technology show itself, but we have not yet even voiced our concerns. We have not yet broached the question for which, according to Heidegger, we sought to know the essence of modern technology in the first place, namely the question of how we are to relate appropriately to that essence. This ulterior motive was indicated by Heidegger in the very first paragraph of the essay. What the question genuinely concerns is not technology but our freedom: “We are asking for technology—in order to prepare thereby a free relation to it. If the relation is going to be free, our Dasein must be open to the essence of technology. If we then respond appropriately to that essence, we will be able to experience technological things in their proper limits” (FT, 7/3). After having...