Books on techne

[Anonymous No.13626483]

I recently read Heidegger's "The question concerning technology" and was blown away by it, and has given me inspiration regarding my profession (theoretical physicist). I have decided to do a reading series on the question of technology and science, and need recommendations. I have some background in classical and scientific philosophy, but hardcore academic texts will be outside of my reach. Dutch translations of German preferred. So far I've read:

>The question regarding technology - Heidegger
>The glass bees - Junger

To read:
>Technology and modernity: Spengler, Jünger, Heidegger, Cassirer - David Roberts
>Man and technology - Spengler
>The physicists conception of nature - Heisenberg

Debating to read
>The industrial revolution and its consequences - Uncle Ted
>Something easily digestable by Marx and Land

I definitely need recommendations on modern, ancient and non-Teutonic texts.

TL;DR- Rec me books on the essence of technology.

[Anonymous No.13626493]

>>13626483
Authors that might interest you:
McLuhan
Ellul
Baudrillard
Mumford

Maybe, some of Deleuze & Guattari?

[Anonymous No.13626501]

>>13626483
Jacques Ellul is the guy for you. 'The Technological Soceity' and 'Propaganda'.

[Anonymous No.13626510]

>>13626483
If you haven't quit your job already you are doing it wrong.

[Anonymous No.13626515]

You can always go for the classic by Rousseau: First discourse on the arts and sciences

[Anonymous No.13626526]

Stiegler, Technics and Time

[Anonymous No.13626552]

Skip all those grandpa books and go straight to Land. Technology is a positive feedback loop that will transcend humanity and see the means of production emancipated from us to go beyond us.

[Anonymous No.13626573]

>>13626552
Please recommend a legible book by Land. His blog posts are cool, and I probably should have put them on the read list.

>>13626510
I am doing a PhD which is basically a stipend to read and write theory as I please.

>>13626501
>>13626493
Thanks, I'll put the technological society on the list.

>>13626515
>>13626526
Listed

[Anonymous No.13626575]

>>13626552
>go straight to Land
Don't do that or you'll end up with an entry level understandning.

[Anonymous No.13626590]

>>13626483
Diverging a little, Hannah Arendt, a Heidegger's student, wrote a book called The Human Condition, studying the transformations in human activity regarding labor in modernity.
Christopher Lasch, Culture of Narcissism and The Minimal Self, thought a technocrat society was one the causes that transformed its citizens in Narcissists.

[Anonymous No.13626605]

>>13626573
Fair enough, but you said it was your profession.

[Anonymous No.13626607]

>>13626501
/thread.

You have to read Ellul

[Anonymous No.13626613]

>>13626575
>gabbidull zo bad id gud
It never goes beyond entry-level. You can cover a turd with all the glitter in the world, but it still remains what it is at its core.

[Anonymous No.13626617]

>>13626483
Heidegger's famous Spiegel ('only a God can save us') interview addresses the same issues as well as his essay on technology, and I would certainly recommend it. Here's a link to the english translation: https://lacan.com/heidespie.html

Also, Uncle Ted's writing on the subject are unironically great. Since you say that it's on the: "Debating to read" list,
Here's what James Q. Wilson, Professor of Political Science, UCLA, said:

> If it is the work of a madman, then the writings of many political philosophers -- Jean Jacques Rousseau, Tom Paine, Karl Marx -- are scarcely more sane.

Or, even longer here's the opinion of David Skrbina (PhD, former senior lecturer at the university of Michigan ) who helped to edit the book. Skrbina writes:

> Noted philosophers like Scheler, Whitehead, and Heidegger published stinging critiques. Orwell’s Road to Wigan Pier (1937) concludes with a penetrating and insightful attack on mechanization and the “machine society.” Of special significance to Kaczynski, and the whole technology debate, is Jacques Ellul’s 1954 masterpiece The Technological Society; his portrayal of technology as a monistic, self-driving force in the world that is able to invade all aspects of human existence, deeply undermining our freedom in the process, was as ground-breaking as it was troubling. In the 1960s and 70s, radical thinkers like Marcuse and Illich called for virtual revolution against the system.[30] Through the present day, some elements of the so-called green anarchist movement attempt to do the same—see R. Scarce (2006). Thus, even though Kaczynski addresses many issues which others before him have raised, he carries the analysis to a new level of intensity. His uniqueness is expressed in a number of ways. First is his relentless focus on technology itself as the root cause of our predicament; he is adamant that, directly or indirectly, modern technology is the sole basis for our most pressing contemporary problems. Second, he assigns highest value to the dignity and autonomy, or freedom, of the human being; it is these things that are chiefly threatened by technology. Third, he explicitly calls for revolution against the system, in a way that no prior critic has done. And revolution is not merely some whimsical afterthought—it is a core element of his overall critique. Fourth, he is very authoritative in his research, citing in a careful

[Anonymous No.13626622]

>>13626575
is this serious or just a meme?

[Anonymous No.13626621]

>>13626552
If accelerationists are so fast, why do they insist on regurgitating two-hundred-year-old theories? Shouldn't they have valorised something by now?

[Anonymous No.13626628]

>>13626622
It's serious AND a meme.
But accelfags don't understand the latter.

[Anonymous No.13626631]

>>13626617
continuation of the quote:

> Fourth, he is very authoritative in his research, citing in a careful and scholarly manner the relevant ideas that support his claims. He does not make idle statements, or offer appeals to emotion, or engage in hyperbole. Finally, Kaczynski is very pragmatic. This is not just theory for him. The situation demands action, and he offers specific plans to assist the transition to a post-technological world.

[Anonymous No.13626643]

>>13626613
you really have no clue if thats what you came away with. not to mention your filename

if you wanna be reductive about it maybe
>capital so inevitable it good
would be more accurate

[Anonymous No.13626648]

>>13626643
lol every time

[Anonymous No.13626740]

>>13626617
Thanks, you convinced me Ted is worth reading. (This in contrast with the Land faggotry)

>>13626590
I put the human condition on.

Also one of the most attractive parts of Heidegger's essay for me was how technology stems from humanity, so some extra rec's on technology as human activity extra appreciated.

[Anonymous No.13626762]

>>13626617
Skrbina is a fucking retard, he should have stayed away from Ted, his introduction was fucking cringe and irrelevant. he's an irrelevant attention whore.

[Anonymous No.13626799]

>>13626648
why do you hate facts

[Anonymous No.13626894]

>>13626799
Yikes

[Anonymous No.13626904]

>>13626552
This.

Only one who comes close to understanding this is Uncle Nick.

Don't bother with anyone else.

[Anonymous No.13626916]

>>13626894
doing a wank about the enlightenment is not facts

[Anonymous No.13627238]

>>13626916
What about the dark enlightenment?

[Anonymous No.13627358]

not sure if you're still there OP but you're entering a rabbit hole that will leave you largely unsatisfied. since survery courses are largely gone from most undergraduate programs you have probably never studied politics or history sufficiently to put your reading into a deeper context. unfortunately those authors you are reading DID and so they are implicitly writing with a classical-greek centric world view, and largely arguing about the merits of the philosophical endowment handed down from antiquity, and wrestling within the frame of Christendom, and the classical problems of fate, determinism and time.

I suggest at a minimum to read one piece of soviet propaganda from the 20th century
>Summa Technologiae
is fine and broad, and then read something like
>The Evolution of Civilizations or Tragedy and Hope by Caroll Quigley

this is sufficient to give you a grounding in the problems most european thinkers were grappling with during and after the industrial revolutions and great wars, from a type of external observer level, Lem and Quigley were not scientists or philosophers and they approached their subjects with a clear and direct voice, writing for posterity - for this reason they are largely ignored by academia and now sit forgotten and unread. but you should be the first to realise that some knowledge is timeless, and primers are very useful to getting up to speed quickly.

[Anonymous No.13627380]

>>13627238
now That is ~°X_L-°R°-8_E-D°~

[Anonymous No.13627467]

>>13627358
Name one (1) modern thinker, especially an academic, who understands the Greeks.

[Anonymous No.13627516]

you are about to peer into what weve lost. perhaps it really is an evolutionary step of leaving unnecessary and junk traits, or in a more and more convincing perspective, the deliberate wiping of more potent 'tech' that is innate, internal, 'free' and not marketable. you will have to go down the rabbit hole of occult and esotericism on your own intuitive drive.

[Anonymous No.13627557]

>>13627467
wouldn't i need to understand them first in order to gauge this?

it would have to be a native greek or latin speaker (greek, french, italian, spanish, romanian) - so largely ignored by what we consider academia which is Americans, Germans and Brits.

my native language is not english, and my experience with english, especially reading lots of different types of english written over hundreds of years, is that it's not really a language of thought, it's more a language of transaction and expression. thoughts are ambiguous and do not flow like sentences, you need effervescence words. german has a lot of strange words because of the constructive nature of their language, there's probably a german word for taking a shit then realising there's no toilet paper.

but greek has superfluous words:
eros, philia, philautia, agape, ludus, pragma.

and it's not the meaning of these words so much as the interplay you can create by purposely misusing them in and out of specific context for added emphasis, or irony, or to create a sadnessunderstanding in the reader, but to do it quickly like a stabbing action. and because they are common words you are not translating them, it enriches your cognition by having multiple words competing with each other for emotive use.

so you read the ancient plays, and you get it, but you also don't get it, because lost in the translation is the playful nature of the language. you have a language that is built around sensory pleasure like latin or oratory prowess like greek, they have to be spoken out loud, with passion, with humor, with joy, with misery. in contrast, english is a lonely language, bitterly disappointing in it's simplicity and linearity. of course you can do tricks, but it's flat, much like the island where it emerges.

you'll notice italians, greeks, spaniards speak english in a funny way. because they do a type of word substitution in their brain, trying their best to add life to it, they want to smile in sadness and be sad when smiling. it seems cheesy because of course in english you are trained to be insincere from birth.

[Anonymous No.13627722]

If you're planning on reading Land with the hope of finding anti tech/capitalism triads then you're in for a disappointment.

[Anonymous No.13627733]

>>13626483
There is also The Turning which is Heidegger's followup essay to Question Concerning Technology. I also recommend pic related since it discusses how the East and the West viewed technics. It's also worth noting Yuk Hui was a student of Gilbert Simondon, who wrote On the Modes of Existence of Technical Objects, which you may also want to read. Hui also makes reference to Bernard Stieger's Technics and Time

[Anonymous No.13627772]

>>13627358
I will be checking in on this thread from time to time. Summa Technologiae looks like a fun read. Tragedy and hope seems relevant, but too broad. I added Jungers "The worker" as it is philosophy of mass mobilization of society as technology in the interbellum.

As for the lack of background, hopefully competent authors are friendly enough to share and explain some morsels of knowledge.

[Anonymous No.13627838]

>>13626573
What kind of physics is your research in? I just finished undergrad and was originally planning on grad school but I was too burnt out to even apply, and like you I really don't know at this point if STEM is morally the direction I want to go.

[Anonymous No.13627854]

>>13627557
>would have to be a native greek
Stopped reading there.

[Anonymous No.13628063]

>>13627838
I study statistical physics and soft matter. I do a lot of stuff on Onsager matrices and dynamics, can't say more without doxing myself. In western europe grad school is very comfortable. Don't burn out from self-applied pressure (raw talent is more important than work ethic, there is no equity of sweat in theory), and never pay for the privilege to do a PhD. If you pursue knowledge for its own sake its worth it and stress free.

[Anonymous No.13628117]

>>13628063
Stat mech always seemed interesting but I was never very good at it. If I ever do go back amd get a PhD, it would be for nonlinear dynamics or relativity. That sounds neat though anon. Good luck.

[Anonymous No.13628121]

If you want to understand technē as a form of productive knowledge I highly recommended this book! I am currently writing a PhD on the relation between episteme and technē in Aristotle, let me know if you want some more recommendations. Not an expert on Heidegger and his philosophy of technology but I know he was highly inspired by Aristotle.

[Anonymous No.13628147]

>>13627557
> so largely ignored by what we consider academia which is Americans, Germans and Brits
You have a weird idea of what academia is. It has its own insularity nut it's pretty international. Conferences are some of the few professional venues where you can meet people from almost anywhere.

[Anonymous No.13628169]

>>13628121
>let me know if you want some more recommendations
Yes please, dear anon!

[Anonymous No.13628392]

>>13628117
Godspeed

>>13628121
That looks like a specialized but very useful source, thanks. Surprised you haven't read the Heidegger essay, as its essentially based on your subject. Just found out that he got his argument of the causae from Heisenberg's book.

[Anonymous No.13628420]

>>13626483
Hedeigger's concern about techne, episteme, poesis, and praxis is a matter of language. He thinkts that the greeks understood all of these as interconnected in terms of alethia, revealing, or "truth"(which he thinks is different from our understanding of truth).

The precise understanding of these words cannot be completely understood as 1. We are not ancient greeks in the time period
2. We are not intimately tied to langauge in the exact way the greeks are, although he beleives german langauge is related and has a special position to all others currrently

All you need to know regarding "techne" is that it used to be understood as a revealing which was interconnected with the arts, science, and ect. Now, since the human hand has been replaced by the machine, techne seemingly has a life of its own which is independent of the arts. Science has also changed in accordance with science read his "science and reflection", in the sense that it has reversed our understaning of 'subject and object' (read his on math essay)

[Anonymous No.13628442]

>>13626483
I just want you to know teche means arts as in “the art of doing x” in Greek. Not technology.

[Anonymous No.13628683]

>>13628442
I know because I actually read the essay. Techne however did lead to technology, and I was asking for works on the human activity of technology.

[Anonymous No.13628684]

>>13628169
A great book on the notion of technē in Plato is ‘of art and wisdom’ by Roochnik. I would also recommend Tom Angier’s
Book ‘technē in Aristotle’s ethics’. Reading those two will give you a great overview. There is an interesting forthcoming paper on technē as a science by Pavese and Aimar, that you can google. Also, ‘Aristotle on the logos of the craftsman’ is a great paper, written by Johansen. Enjoy!

[Anonymous No.13628706]

>>13628684
Very nice. Thank you!

[Anonymous No.13628991]

>>13626483
Read Nietzsche and The Worker.

Embrace modern Technology without a slave morality mindset.

[Anonymous No.13629058]

I can't remember the exact details but are there German communities or more of art guilds that have to do with the "worker" or sculptor? I had an anon tell me about it long ago but i forgot what they were called. They were like a mason fraternity or something in that line having to do with the tradition of builders in the community. Not exactly a cult but it seemed like a traditionalist technical school.

[Anonymous No.13629122]

>>13626483
Some good studies of the ancient understanding of techne are David Roochnik's "Of Art and Wisdom: Plato's Understanding of Techne" and Stanley Rosen's "Plato's Statesman: The Web of Politics".