“Discontent” in the age of “Enframing”: Technology and the roots of the existential uneasiness in modernity’s social context

Abstract

In this article, we will develop an interpretation of the relationship that can be established between the existential “discontent” and modern technology, grounded on a phenomenological-hermeneutical approach that intends to unveil its fundamental modern philosophical roots. First, we will build an interpretation of the “civilizational discontent” that Freud diagnosed as a common emotional disposition of the western culture in the first half of the 20th century. On a second moment, we will try to understand the way by which this “civilizational discontent” can be correlated with Heidegger’s interpretation of the essence of modern technology as Ge-stell (“enframing”), paying particular attention to its capability to undermine modern thinking. Finally, we will build an interpretation of how this relationship between “civilizational discontent” and “enframing” becomes manifest in Marcuse’s critique of modern industrial society.

Keywords: discontent, technology, modernity.