STS CHAPTER 6-7

• Technology


  A means to a goal and a human activity
• Aristotle's Four Causes


  • Causa Materialis (Material Cause)
  • Causa Formalis (Formal Cause)
  • Causa Finalis (Final Cause)
  • Causa Efficiens (Efficient Cause)
• Poiesis


  The process of anything coming into being, defined by an outside force
• Physis


  Anything that occurred naturally, without assistance from the outside
• Enframing


  The true content or essence of technology, the ongoing pulling out of hiding of what is hidden
• Enframing contains a two-way exchange: the concealed calls out for someone to set upon it and bring it to unconcealment, and the one who hears the call sets upon and acts upon the concealed in order to bring it to unconcealment
• The desire to reveal what has been hidden also serves to hide something further
• When one seeks to comprehend something, he tends to close off to the thing being opened up to him
• Modern technology


  • Unlocks and exposes
  • Stockpiles for future use
  • Extracts greater value from nature
• The essence of modern technology is enframing, which reflects the process of organizing whatever is available to humans, particularly what is hidden
• The threat Heidegger warned about is the ongoing struggle for the revealed to become even more exposed, which can lead to misunderstanding and a tendency to think technology is the answer to every problem
• Present-day man prefers to find enjoyment in the accomplishments that come from modern technology, leading to a decline in face-to-face social contacts and a lack of contentment
• According to Heidegger, this can be avoided if man would not allow himself to be overwhelmed by the enframing of technology
• Happiness for humans depends on technology's ongoing advancement
• Present-day man


  Prefers to find enjoyment in the accomplishments that come from modern technology
• A man's worth seems to be his ability to use a smartphone, tablet, or laptop
• Social media have impacted the lives of many people
• Face-to-face social contacts are becoming less and less common as individuals labor harder to upgrade their devices
• There is no such thing as contentment as every time a new product is created, the man discovers a new desire that can only be satisfied by a new product
• The necessity for physical work is declining due to the availability of machinery, and these new items tend to replace men in society
• Enframing


  The state of being overwhelmed by technology
• According to Heidegger, the answer is for man to stop dominating and manipulating what he was given instead of allowing nature to show itself to him
• According to biologists, plants, animals, and other living things share people's characteristics
• A human being is a sophisticated object capable of carrying out operations necessary for maintaining life
• The greatest form of these living things, the human, is thought to contain qualities that cannot be explained by science alone
• Biologists aren't equipped to tell us whether an organism is a human organism because "human" is a folk-category rather a scientific one
• The ability to reason sets humans apart from other animals
• Heidegger thought that the question "What is human being?" is just the tip of the original and more valid question "What is the meaning of being?"
• Heidegger is not convinced with the reasons used to justify the neglect of the question "What is the meaning of being?" - the self-evidence, universality, and indefinability of the concept of being
• Heidegger focused on the "modes of existence" or the "who" of "Dasein" and used the phrase "dasein," which literally translates as "being there"
• The "modes of existence" is fundamentally established by two things: (1) Dasein exists in a world and (2) Dasein has a self that it defines as it exists in such world
• The desire for joy, peace, and contentment is incomprehensible and resides in the very core of every human being
• The unquenchable yearning for the infinite possibilities of existence can only be satisfied once
• Eudaimonia


  The comfortable condition of being healthy, happy, and successful as well as the possession of a good indwelling spirit
• Epicurus thought that moderation and balance made room for happiness
• Nietzsche believes that happiness is a "ideal state of laziness," as opposed to many philosophers who believe it to be a "constant state of well-being"
• Science and technology are at the forefront of the rapidly evolving society we live in
• Global communications are now feasible thanks to the development of information technology
• The medical and health industries have advanced thanks to the development of gene therapy, stem cells, and cloning
• Robotics and nanotechnology have created thriving industries