Ernst Jünger’s Philosophy of Technology

Ernst Jünger, one of the most significant German authors of the 20th century, has provided a unique perspective on the technological age we currently live in. His novels and essays capture the essence of the age of technology and offer a glimpse of the scope of the mobilization of natural and human resources in the technological age.

In this book, the author explores Jünger’s concept of the technological age, the turning of being he envisioned, and the methods he deployed to have access to this hidden dimension of the gestalt in his early work. He also discusses Martin Heidegger’s critical reflections on Jünger and how his conceptualization of will, work, and gestalt at the beginning of the 1930s was influenced by Jünger. Finally, Vincent Blok examines Jünger’s non-metaphysical method and his non-metaphysical concept of language to envision the future, as well as the relevance of his work in the context of current philosophical debates on the anthropocene.

(The term “anthropocene” emphasizes the significant role that human activities have played in shaping the planet’s geology and ecology, highlighting the need for a shift in human behavior and priorities to address the ongoing environmental crisis.)

1. Ernst Jünger’s Concept of the Technological Age

In the trenches of World War I, Ernst Jünger experienced the destruction of the age of Enlightenment and the emergence of a new era in which technology, functionality, and work are the dominant categories. The age of technology that Jünger envisioned is marked by the mobilization of natural and human resources, with categories like rationality, equality, and freedom no longer holding any value. Jünger’s novels and essays provide an impression of the scope of the age of technology, which is characterized by a total mobilization of the natural world and of human existence.

1.1 The Totally Mobilized World of Nihilism

The age of technology, according to Jünger, is a world of nihilism in which both world and man appear in terms of their functionality and efficiency. He argues that this totally mobilized world is meaningless, but he does not long for the day of old or seek exceptions or alternatives for the technological age. Jünger’s work focuses on making the transition from the totally mobilized world we currently live in toward a world in which a new type of man – the type of the worker – represents the gestalt of the worker and is responsive to this new turning of being.

1.2 The Reflection on the Sense of the Technological Age

Jünger’s reflection on the sense of the technological age is as relevant today as it was in his days. His work had a great impact on one of the major philosophers of the 20th century, Martin Heidegger, who not only incorporated Jünger’s analysis of the technological age in his later work but also reflected on the concepts of will, work, and gestalt at the beginning of the 1930s.

2. Heidegger’s Reception of Jünger

Martin Heidegger’s reception of Jünger is both critical and appreciative. He acknowledges Jünger’s ability to describe the world of technology accurately but also criticizes Jünger for not going far enough in his analysis. Heidegger’s own approach to the question of technology is marked by a deep reflection on the essence of Being and the transformative power of technology. It is through this lens that Heidegger engages with Jünger’s work and offers his own contribution to the question of technology.

2.1 The Positive and Negative Influence of Jünger on Heidegger

Günter Figal has shown that Heidegger became the “diagnostician of modernity” because of his confrontation with Jünger. Michael Zimmermann has shown that Jünger influenced not only Heidegger’s diagnosis of modernity but also his philosophical-political reaction to it. Jünger’s view that the will to power mobilized humanity in terms of the gestalt of the technological worker influenced Heidegger in two crucial ways: first, it helped convince him that only a radical new beginning, like that proposed by National Socialism, could help Germany to escape Jünger’s technological forecast. Second, it led Heidegger to look for the essence of that new beginning not so much in philosophy but in art, especially art as understood by Nietzsche and Hölderlin.

Jünger’s Non-Metaphysical Method and the Future

Jünger’s work not only provides concrete strategies and methods to envision the future but also conceptualizes this future in terms of the anthropocene. In Part III of his work, Jünger returns to the concept of the age of technology and the turning of being he envisions at the time wall in his later work. In this context, he explores his non-metaphysical method and his non-metaphysical concept of language to envision the future.

A unique perspective

In conclusion, Ernst Jünger’s philosophy of technology offers a unique perspective on the age of technology we currently live in. His novels and essays provide an impression of the scope of the age of technology and offer a glimpse of the mobilization of natural and human resources in the technological age. Jünger’s work has had a great impact on one of the major philosophers of the 20th century, Martin Heidegger, who not only incorporated Jünger’s analysis of the technological age in his later work but also reflected on the concepts of will, work, and gestalt at the beginning of the 1930s. Jünger’s non-metaphysical method and his non-metaphysical concept of language to envision the future are as relevant today as they were in his days, and his work continues to inspire current philosophical debates on the anthropocene.

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