Heidegger and Foucault on modern technology: does Gestell ‘correspond perfectly’ to dispositif ?
Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: This article compares Heidegger and Foucault on modern technology, taking its clue from Agamben’s claim that Gestell and dispositif are ‘perfectly corresponding’ concepts. So far, however, the task of a detailed comparison of Gestell and dispositif remains unresolved. At first glance, the two terms appear compatible, designating how we moderns began objectifying nature as well as ourselves as manipulatable raw material. Significant for the discussion is Heidegger’s and Foucault’s contrasting readings of Nietzsche, i.e. as the ‘last metaphysician’ versus ‘the first genealogist’. Schematically, for Heidegger, modern technology figures as humanity’s nearly inescapable condition, whereas Foucault sees it is ‘functionally indeterminant’, evolving in multiple, intersecting, and unexpected ways.
Source: Journal of Political Power
Author: Kaspar Villadsen
Institution: Copenhagen Business School
Language: English
Topic: Foucault, Power, and Ethics
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W4401467509