The Tragic Double Bind of Heidegger’s <i>Techne</i>

Abstract

In this paper, I consider Heidegger's call for the recapturing of radical techne or "the original Greek essence of science" because, he argues, it reminds us of our tragic impotence in the face of nature—that humans are in the throws of a fate beyond their determination. For Heidegger, our thinking, our building, our politics, and our art must be episphalês (precarious and prone to fall)—that is, its aim must not be to protect against or hide from, but to stand firm against the collapse and confusion of Western thinking and civilization.