Martin Heidegger's 'The Question Concerning Technology' - Reading and Analysis - Part One

Here I discuss my reading of the philosopher Martin Heidegger’s “The Question Concerning Technology” (1954) as used in a current graduate seminar. In this video, Part One, I read from 309 – 323 of David Farrell Krell’s 1993 edition of “Basic Writings." This reading is not a facsimile of the seminar however, I thought to provide this for attendees and the general public. If you are using this text for your scholarship please cite and / or attribute my work as it is an original reading of the text.

My reading and analysis focuses on Heidegger’s concepts and their relationship to “the poetry of thought” according to my scholarship of Wallace Stevens. Here I make contemporary examples specific to ChatGPT and other such technologies namely on the difference between “instrumentum” and the essence of technology according to Heidegger. I also examine Heidegger’s definition on the four causes and his implication that the essence of technology might be a fifth cause. I explore how this may be conflated with poetry itself – that is – how Heidegger sees poetry as a category for philosophy rather than situating poetry as the origin of philosophy. I also draw questions in regard to Heidegger’s use of the word "nature" in its proximity to technik amongst other things. Finally, I offer commentary on the role of the human regarding "enframing," notions of common sense and the essence of technology, bringing-forth, concealment and unconcealment as well as other terms Heidegger deploys.

Happy thinking.

[publius]

This is really great stuff. Thank you very much for making this available