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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260410T152003Z
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20241113T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20241113T210000
SUMMARY:Anthropology of Dehumanization: Miki Kiyoshi’s Ontology of Technology
UID:20260411T134836Z-iCalPlugin-Grails@philevents-web-f5d4878dd-dnjxp
TZID:America/Chicago
LOCATION:New York\, United States\, 11229
DESCRIPTION:<p>This presentation explores Miki Kiyoshi&rsquo\;s philosophy of technology. His understanding of</p>\n<p>technology is not limited to the conventional view of technology as a mere tool\; rather\, he</p>\n<p>perceives technology as a way to grasp the existential condition of human life. This</p>\n<p>presentation will go beyond simply examining how Miki understands technology. Instead\, it</p>\n<p>will delve into how technology is intertwined with the existential conditions of alienated</p>\n<p>individuals in modernity\, and how this relationship can be understood as fundamentally</p>\n<p>historical.</p>\n<p>We can approach these existential conditions through several key concepts that Miki</p>\n<p>developed\, such as &ldquo\;basic experience&rdquo\; (kiso-keiken\; 基礎経験)\, &ldquo\;nihility&rdquo\; (kyomu\; 虚無)\, and</p>\n<p>imagination (kōsōryoku\; 構想力). In Notes on Life (『人生論ノート』\, 1941)\, Miki famously</p>\n<p>stated that &ldquo\;nihility is the human condition.&rdquo\; He further argued that nihility is the foundational</p>\n<p>premise of human existence\, shaping life itself\, and that the formation of life is driven by</p>\n<p>nihility. In other words\, the ontology of nihility is closely linked to Miki&rsquo\;s idea of creative</p>\n<p>imagination.</p>\n<p>However\, before his ontological view of nihility fully evolved\, Miki also developed the</p>\n<p>concept of &ldquo\;basic experience\,&rdquo\; which primarily refers to the dehumanized condition of the</p>\n<p>proletariat&mdash\;those marginalized and excluded by the capitalist system. This idea is particularly</p>\n<p>evident in his 1927 essay\, Marxism and Materialism (『マルクス主義と唯物論』).</p>\n<p>Thus\, the central question arises: how can we find a consistent foundation for integrating</p>\n<p>these two existential concepts&mdash\;imagination rooted in nihility and the &ldquo\;basic experience&rdquo\;? My</p>\n<p>presentation will argue that Miki saw technology as the intermediary between these two</p>\n<p>concepts\, granting technology a historic-ontological status. By interpreting technology in this</p>\n<p>way\, we can understand it as a phenomenon arising from the historical struggle between</p>\n<p>humans and nature.</p>\n<p>This existential view of technology will be explored through the lens of Miki&rsquo\;s anthropology</p>\n<p>of dehumanization. In particular\, I will focus on a re-reading of the chapter on &ldquo\;Technology&rdquo\; in</p>\n<p>The Logic of Imagination (『構想力の論理』\, 1939)\, alongside key passages from Philosophy of</p>\n<p>Technology (『技術哲学』\, 1941) and Marxism and Materialism.</p>
ORGANIZER;CN=Gerald Nelson:
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