Heidegger...hmm. An interesting and controversial man; very difficult to understand.
To begin, I think I need to try to 'bracket' my biases. I have to admit that I am having difficulty separating Heidegger's ideas from
the man himself. According to the sources I read, he had an affair with more than one of his
students. This drastically changed my opinion of him as a man/husband/ member of the academy. And then I discovered that he was a member of the Nazi
party and he actively enacted many of the party policies, seemingly without
protest. This included participating in the persecution of many of the Jewish professors at the University where he was rector in 1933/34. In fact, it appears that he was instrumental in the 'ousting' of a Jewish math professor who would later go on to be awarded the Nobel prize. Perhaps some of the most disturbing acts were against his former mentor - Hussel. Although he was in a position as rector to support and advocate for Hussel, instead Heidegger
chose to perpetuate the discrimination of his mentor at the University, and to eliminate the dedication to him in the fourth edition of
his book, because he was Jewish. These appalling acts, and his lack of public atonement for any of his actions throughout the rest of his life have left me troubled. Ethically I have trouble separating his actions from
his intellect. But since this isn't a class in politics and ethics, I will try now to turn my attention to his thoughts on technology.
Was Heidegger trying to tell us that we need to spend more time thinking about our existence? And just....being?... To think without the intent of dominating? ... That technology might distract us from this pursuit of the 'meaning' of life? I also see warnings in his writings... that technology can manipulate how we see things (i.e. a way of revealing), and that we must always be vigilant of how this influences the way we perceive the world. He also seems to be warning us about our need to 'master' the world. In particular I was struck by the section in his essay when he talked about a time in ancient Greece when 'art' was the highest form of knowing. I wonder what the world would be like today if that was still our lens to the 'truth'? Have we created a mechanical/technological future that is moving away from spiritualism or other ways of understanding/being? In one of the audio clips (Heidegger - Part 5) they mention the 'demonic' nature of modern technology. They seem to posit that modern technology is the antithesis of 'God' and that we are trying to become God, particularly with new biotechnologies.
In Heidegger's writings I see critique of the positivist paradigm that dominates modern science, technology and medicine. I think he is arguing for other ways of knowing and understanding the world. This fits with his strong early mentorship by Hussel, one of the foremost proponents of phenomenology or understanding the 'essence' of an experience. I think Heidegger in his own right is arguing for another paradigm, more qualitative in it's approach to understanding our world and our place within it.
My head hurts! I'm looking forward to our discussions and hopefully a little bit of clarity.
