Thinking is inseparably interwoven into human nature. Nearly everyone ponders about various things: school, work, what to eat for dinner. Yet, as every college student knows, the difference between the thinking involved in solving a differential equation and the thinking involved in searching for a potential romantic partner is like the difference between day and night. In his speech, “Memorial Address”, the renowned German philosopher Martin Heidegger explores two forms of thinking that he labels “calculative thinking” (Heidegger, "Memorial Address" 46) and “meditative thinking” (Heidegger, "Memorial Address" 46). Calculative thought is the detached, rational type of thinking responsible for helping one solve an engineering problem or determine
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As Heidegger states: “There are… two kinds of thinking, each justified and needed in its own way” (Heidegger, "Memorial Address" 46). Society would cease to function if it were not for calculative thinkers such as engineers and businesspeople. Yet culture would stagnate without the meditative thinking of philosophers and writers. Even while criticizing the deleterious effects of excess calculative thought in his speech, “Memorial Address,” Heidegger concedes that “it would be foolish to attack technology blindly,” (Heidegger, "Memorial Address" 53) and states that “technical devices… even challenge us to ever greater advances” (Heidegger, "Memorial Address" 53). Like meditative thought, calculative thought advances society, but in scientific and technological fields instead of cultural fields. Ultimately, society relies heavily on both forms of thinking for …show more content…
Heidegger accuses modern humans of being “in flight from [meditative] thinking” (Heidegger, "Memorial Address" 45). Heidegger even fears that “calculative thinking may someday come to be accepted and practiced as the only way of thinking” (Heidegger, "Memorial Address" 56). Since both meditative and calculative thinking are essential to a balanced, culturally and technologically vibrant society, the demise of meditative thought would be highly detrimental. As mentioned previously, one symptom of this issue can be observed in the rise of online, instant communication, a quick, efficient, but stale form of conversing with others. The lightning speed of electronic communication threatens to displace traditional, face-to-face communication. Another German philosopher, Herbert Marcuse, discusses in One Dimensional Man the implications of the increasing mechanization of society. Marcuse fears that in our current, technologically advanced society, “technological rationality,” (Marcuse 20) i.e. calculative thought, would become “the great vehicle of better domination, creating a truly totalitarian universe” (Marcuse 20). “Non-conformity with the system” (Marcuse 4) would become “socially useless,” (Marcuse 4) only entailing “tangible economical and political disadvantages” (Marcuse 4). People would cease to think meditatively since there would no longer be a
As Heidegger states: “There are… two kinds of thinking, each justified and needed in its own way” (Heidegger, "Memorial Address" 46). Society would cease to function if it were not for calculative thinkers such as engineers and businesspeople. Yet culture would stagnate without the meditative thinking of philosophers and writers. Even while criticizing the deleterious effects of excess calculative thought in his speech, “Memorial Address,” Heidegger concedes that “it would be foolish to attack technology blindly,” (Heidegger, "Memorial Address" 53) and states that “technical devices… even challenge us to ever greater advances” (Heidegger, "Memorial Address" 53). Like meditative thought, calculative thought advances society, but in scientific and technological fields instead of cultural fields. Ultimately, society relies heavily on both forms of thinking for …show more content…
Heidegger accuses modern humans of being “in flight from [meditative] thinking” (Heidegger, "Memorial Address" 45). Heidegger even fears that “calculative thinking may someday come to be accepted and practiced as the only way of thinking” (Heidegger, "Memorial Address" 56). Since both meditative and calculative thinking are essential to a balanced, culturally and technologically vibrant society, the demise of meditative thought would be highly detrimental. As mentioned previously, one symptom of this issue can be observed in the rise of online, instant communication, a quick, efficient, but stale form of conversing with others. The lightning speed of electronic communication threatens to displace traditional, face-to-face communication. Another German philosopher, Herbert Marcuse, discusses in One Dimensional Man the implications of the increasing mechanization of society. Marcuse fears that in our current, technologically advanced society, “technological rationality,” (Marcuse 20) i.e. calculative thought, would become “the great vehicle of better domination, creating a truly totalitarian universe” (Marcuse 20). “Non-conformity with the system” (Marcuse 4) would become “socially useless,” (Marcuse 4) only entailing “tangible economical and political disadvantages” (Marcuse 4). People would cease to think meditatively since there would no longer be a