Wall-EAnd Heidegger

September 26, 1889 – May 26, 1976

MARTIN HEIDEGGER

Martin Heidegger and Technology

• German philosopher, 1889-1976• Critical of the way that we understand existence; that our orientation of

existence is a self-serving, consumer culture• Heidegger argues that this profoundly affects the way in which human

beings relate to modern technology• For Heidegger, technology operates as a means to an end• It signifies progress or a symbolic representation of progress

• Creates a standing reserve for how we relate to the environment around us

• Examples• Stop lights• Note taking

Heidegger and Ontology

• Ontology is a question of being• What is our purpose? • What does it mean to be human?

• It precedes all other questions even questions of epistemology because it determines how we relate or orient ourselves to that knowledge• Heidegger says that technology precedes the way that we understand

the world around us

Dasein (Being There)

• We are unique not simply because only we can question Being, but also in that, in questioning Being, we put our own Being in question.• This question creates an

awareness of our death – this changes the quality of how we would live. It changes the way we would treat others and the decisions we would make.

Critique of Technology

• Heidegger worries that modern humans will get lost in inauthenticity and lose their beingness in technology.

Heidegger and Technology

• Heidegger• That the accessibility to technology becomes how we understand our own

progress • It is symbolic of modernity or civilization

• Warns of the dangers of over-dependence on technology – says that it alters the way that we relate to one another and alters the way that we understand and execute our own existence

Technology changes thought• Nature of writing • fountain pen, typewritten, word processor, • interpersonal communications: letters, telephone, e-

mail IM. • Nature of work• crafts, factory production, new information

economy. • relationship to information

• library model of careful selection• classification, and permanent collections • information retrieval model of access to everything,

diversification, and dynamic collections. • All of these changes are disruptive,

• foreclose old practices and provide new opportunities. • Some people are always hurt by shifts, while others thrive.

Technology changes thought

• Process of communication• What is face to face communication?• What is phone communication?• What is text communication?

• Differences – removes social cues• Emotion• Flow of information• Frame of messages (more ebrasive)• audience

Heidegger and Authenticity

Heidegger and Authenticity

Heidegger and Authenticity

The Mediated World of Technology

The Mediated World of Technology

Utopia vs Dystopia

• The movie is demonstrative of the differences between a Utopia and a Dystopia• Utopia – a fictional ideal that we strive for • Dystopia – a fictional ideal that we try to avoid• What happens when the Utopia becomes achievable?• Is it a universal principle? Can one persons utopia be another mans dystopia?

• Often times, our Utopia’s are built off of axioms• Definition: a premise so evident as to be accepted as true without controversy• Tension between a utopia and dystopia emerges when something that we

think is universally true turns out to contain flaws

Utopia vs Dystopia

• Economy• Political Leadership• Religion• Freedom of Speech• Crime• Education• Military

What does it mean to be human?

• Can Humans be robots? Can robots be human?• In order to answer this question, you need to be able to define ‘human’ and

‘robot’

• Traits of Humans – emerges out of curiosity• Ability to show emotions• Ability to learn and make mistakes• Ability to reason

• Traits of Robots• Programmed• Emotionless

Is Wall-E human?

• Wall-E - its compassion, vulnerability and endearing clumsiness awaken the dormant humanity of everyone he meets, robot and human. • he salvages shiny items -- Christmas lights, Rubik's Cubes, cigarette lighters -- that

become (like the random collections made by children) evidence of personality, even humanity.

• Is Wall-E truly human or is he our own utopian ideal of what can be a human?• Wall-E does not demonstrate any negative qualities in terms of characteristics that

we associate with humanity

• For many, the ability to demonstrate emotion is uniquely human• Definition: a natural instinctive state of mind deriving from one's circumstances,

mood, or relationships with others

Robot hospital

Since people do not think that robots can demonstrate emotion or be human, the humans see it as a malfunction

Dependence on Technology

• Humans are so reliant on technology that it controls their everyday existence – it removes their curiosity or desire to seek knowledge• “There is massive propaganda for everyone to consume. Consumption is

good for profits and consumption is good for the political establishment.” • Noam Chomsky

• Axiom• generally accepted truth: a statement or idea that people accept as self-evidently

true

• Shows up when they are teaching the kids• A is for Axiom, your home sweet home. • B is for Buy N Large, your very best friend.

The Humans

• In the movie, they have become overweight because they have reached their “Utopia”• A world that minimizes work and maximizes leisure

• Free time becomes something that we must fill rather than a release to work towards• This is the utopian ideal of most worker revolutions

• So caught up in “leisure”- that they cant see the world around them• “I didn’t know we had a pool”

Humans (cont’d)

• Humans change from bold space explorers to rotund, adult infants, incapable of walking without aid. • Humans move about the space liner in floating easy chairs, consume

food in oversized shakes and engage in constant, Facebook-like communication while communicating little but complaint and boredom.• Face to Face Communication is eliminated• Communication Breakdown – digitalizing the way that we interact

Wall-E’s Utopia

• At the beginning of the film, Wall-E seems content to live in the world that is around him• Performs his “directive” of compacting trash

• One man’s trash is another mans treasure• Collection of objects

Plato – Allegory of the Cave

Plato – Allegory of the Cave – Review • It is a theory that ties to the way that we understand the world around

us • Argues that individuals are a prisoner to their senses or that which is

immediately present• This is partially due to the fear of the unknown; people find comfort in

the things that they are used to • Cedes our ability to change, predict, or interpret the world around us to others;

typically those that are in positions of authority

• Tie between Heidegger and Plato – individuals who are constrained by social expectations (inauthentic) cannot truly understand their subject position

Plato – Allegory of the Cave – Wall-E

Plato – Allegory of the Cave – the Captain

Arendt – Banality of Evil

Arendt – Banality of Evil – Review

• It is a theory that radical or absolute evil does not exist• Instead, individuals can perform evil deeds without themselves being

inherently evil• They choose not to question their actions because they are “following orders”

• Often times these evil acts emerge from blind obedience to authority that is derived from either rules or people in power• Rules – rules can be something that we are designed to do (directives) or it

can be a learned behavior created through repetition (routes)• People in power – those in power convey leadership coerce individuals

Arendt – Banality of Evil – Automatic Routes

Arendt – Banality of Evil – Auto

The ties between Government and Corporations• Do Corporations influence government decision-making?• According to the Federal Elections Campaign Act, it is illegal for them to

explicitly fund campaigns• However, there are several ways around this through the use of “interest groups”• In 2012, the two parties raised almost $2 billion in campaign funds

• Lobbyists and interest groups also influence decision-making on specific bills• They speak on behalf of specific organizations or sectors of the economy and have a

powerful influence on the budgetary considerations of the federal government

Specific Lobbies FYI

• Defense Industry – undisclosed amount – but military spending by the US Gov’t is more than the next 20 countries combined\• Lockheed Martin

• Agribusiness Industry - $150 million a year • Influences food labels, climate change legislation, and subsidies for certain

farming methods• Monsanto

• Oil Industry - $150 million a year• Influences climate change legislation, the legality of mining / drilling,

• FRACKING (gasland)

Buy N Large

The ties between government and corporations• In the movie, Buy N Large becomes so influential that corporations and

government become one in the same • “A private corporation, let’s say General Electric, is, in fact, just a pure tyranny…

And when those institutions also control the government, the framework for popular decision-making very much narrows. In fact, that’s the purpose of shrinking government. It’s so that the sphere of popular decision-making will narrow and more decisions will fall into the hands of the private tyrannies.” • Noam Chomsky

• “Honestly, I think we should just trust our president in every decision he makes and should just support that, you know, and be faithful in what happens.” • Britney Spears

Gender Roles

• How are gender roles constructed in the movie?• In what ways are stereotyping or anti-stereotyping involved? • What makes a male masculine and a woman feminine?

Gender roles in these robots