180067 LPS Conditio Humana (2017W)

Aims:

Careful reading of chosen chapters of the main works of Hannah Arendt and Günther Anders. Based on the phenomena shown in Vita Activa and the Antiquiertheit des Menschen, a possible anthropology of modern humans will be reconstructed and discussed.

Content:

The main works of the two philosophers, writers and scientists in the humanities Hannah Arendt and Günther Anders, who were married at one time, contain groundbreaking thoughts on the anthropology of humans influenced by technology, consumerism and media. Emphasis will be placed on philosophical deliberations on technology and media. The authors‘ reflections were based on their own personal as well as historical experiences during the second half of the 20th century, beginning with World War II, Auschwitz and the first atomic bombing. Their further analyses deal with the topics of mass production, mass media, consumerism and industrialisation as well as with the question of what can still be called genuinely human in the light of such developments.
Their approach and their resulting theses can be applied to current aspects of digitalisation, medialisation and automation.

Method:

Chosen chapters and passages of both books will be analysed through close and critical reading in order to ensure adequate comprehension of terms and problems as well as the ability to reflect upon them critically. Expert groups will choose passages for collective reading in order to then test the validity of the theses and to try to apply them to the present. The results can help to understand whether today, given the existence of phenomena known as Industry 4.0, these theses are still relevant or have become obsolete.