Heidegger's Confrontation with Modernity: Technology, Politics, and Art

by Zimmerman, Michael E (1990)

Abstract

The relation between Martin Heidegger's understanding of technology and his affiliation with and conception of National Socialism is the leading idea of this fascinating and revealing book. Zimmerman shows that the key to the relation between Heidegger's philosophy and his politics was his concern with the nature of working and production.

Key Passage

Trapped within Nietzsche's metaphysics, Junger conceived of the Gestalt of the worker in terms  of a certain kind of humanity. He spoke  as if the Gestalt of the worker forged together in humanity the calculating,  steely powers of the machine and  the  atavistic, passionate energies  of the Will to Power at work in all  life. As we  have seen, however,  Heidegger believed that this  view  of  humanity  as half-animal, half-rational was  the  final stage  of the decline of Aristotle's doctrine of  the "rational animal" in Nietzsche's "blond beast" who would dominate the earth with modern technology. (p.81)

Keywords

Heidegger, Technology, National Socialism, Junger, Production, Germany, Nazi

Themes

Technology, On Heidegger

Links to Reference

• https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=0eJa3xPCThsC
• https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=0eJa3xPCThsC&oi=fnd&pg=PR9&dq=Heidegger+%26+Technology+%26+Workers&ots=CHAp8U6-8t&sig=xtnQUhbHZhU-ftssdcCc6pN-cpc

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