enowning
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
 
The Energy Collective on German Technikskepsis.
[T]he German term Technik only inaccurately translates into the English word technology. Technik it is much closer to the Greek τεχνικός (technikós) which includes human systems, and is distinct from the German Technologie, a distinction that is absent in the English language. Technikskepsis, again, is a complex matter, and while this blog-post cannot adequately spell out its genealogy, it is worth noting that it has roots in Martin Heidegger’s philosophy from where it spread to political ideas on the left with Herbert Marcuse, a student of Heidegger who later joined the legendary Institute for Social Research. It’s most influential rendition is arguably Hans Jonas’ The Imperative of Responsibility which lays out an ethical principle for the age of technology: "Act so that the effects of your action are compatible with the permanence of genuine human life." And this imperative, of course, is precisely what the critics claim nuclear energy cannot meet.
I don't think Heidegger would distinguish between renewable vs non-renewable sources of energy. A hydroelectrice dam on the Rhine and a nuclear plant are both merely resources in standing reserve, ready to be hooked up to the electric grid.
 
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