Dead Memories: Heidegger, Stiegler, and the Technics of Books and Libraries
In this paper, I attempt to understand Heidegger’s conception of technology in light of Stiegler’s critique of that conception, anchored in a discussion of books and libraries as technological artefacts. I argue, following Stiegler, that Heidegger did not adequately take into account the inherent te...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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University of Windsor
2014-05-01
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| Series: | PhaenEx: Journal of Existential and Phenomenological Theory and Culture |
| Online Access: | https://phaenex.uwindsor.ca/index.php/phaenex/article/view/3851 |
| _version_ | 1818143560902377472 |
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| author | David Tkach |
| author_facet | David Tkach |
| author_sort | David Tkach |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In this paper, I attempt to understand Heidegger’s conception of technology in light of Stiegler’s critique of that conception, anchored in a discussion of books and libraries as technological artefacts. I argue, following Stiegler, that Heidegger did not adequately take into account the inherent technological character of the means by which Dasein’s heritage is transmitted to subsequent generations. Stiegler’s concept of epiphylogenesis—dead matter externally organized to support living, internal memory and instantiated in books and libraries—is therefore a useful supplement to the Heideggerian account of the transmission of heritage. I examine the points where Heidegger mentions books and/or libraries in three exemplary texts from the beginning, middle, and end of his career, indicating at each point how Stiegler’s thought can supplement that of Heidegger. I conclude with a brief discussion of David Mitchell’s novel Cloud Atlas, considered as a paradigmatic example of Stiegler’s conceptual framework. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-11T11:33:37Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f9c09a719fc345b196c81f573093284e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1911-1576 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-11T11:33:37Z |
| publishDate | 2014-05-01 |
| publisher | University of Windsor |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PhaenEx: Journal of Existential and Phenomenological Theory and Culture |
| spelling | doaj.art-f9c09a719fc345b196c81f573093284e2022-12-22T01:08:48ZengUniversity of WindsorPhaenEx: Journal of Existential and Phenomenological Theory and Culture1911-15762014-05-019110.22329/p.v9i1.3851Dead Memories: Heidegger, Stiegler, and the Technics of Books and LibrariesDavid Tkach0Dawson CollegeIn this paper, I attempt to understand Heidegger’s conception of technology in light of Stiegler’s critique of that conception, anchored in a discussion of books and libraries as technological artefacts. I argue, following Stiegler, that Heidegger did not adequately take into account the inherent technological character of the means by which Dasein’s heritage is transmitted to subsequent generations. Stiegler’s concept of epiphylogenesis—dead matter externally organized to support living, internal memory and instantiated in books and libraries—is therefore a useful supplement to the Heideggerian account of the transmission of heritage. I examine the points where Heidegger mentions books and/or libraries in three exemplary texts from the beginning, middle, and end of his career, indicating at each point how Stiegler’s thought can supplement that of Heidegger. I conclude with a brief discussion of David Mitchell’s novel Cloud Atlas, considered as a paradigmatic example of Stiegler’s conceptual framework.https://phaenex.uwindsor.ca/index.php/phaenex/article/view/3851 |
| spellingShingle | David Tkach Dead Memories: Heidegger, Stiegler, and the Technics of Books and Libraries PhaenEx: Journal of Existential and Phenomenological Theory and Culture |
| title | Dead Memories: Heidegger, Stiegler, and the Technics of Books and Libraries |
| title_full | Dead Memories: Heidegger, Stiegler, and the Technics of Books and Libraries |
| title_fullStr | Dead Memories: Heidegger, Stiegler, and the Technics of Books and Libraries |
| title_full_unstemmed | Dead Memories: Heidegger, Stiegler, and the Technics of Books and Libraries |
| title_short | Dead Memories: Heidegger, Stiegler, and the Technics of Books and Libraries |
| title_sort | dead memories heidegger stiegler and the technics of books and libraries |
| url | https://phaenex.uwindsor.ca/index.php/phaenex/article/view/3851 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT davidtkach deadmemoriesheideggerstieglerandthetechnicsofbooksandlibraries |