Atechnological Experience Unfolding
Presenter: Pasi Heikkurinen
Commenter: Toni Ruuska, Chair: Jarkko Pyysiäinen
Abstract
This paper will introduce and define ‘atechnological experience’ as the absence of technological framing in consciousness. The focus of the paper is on the question: how technology and its non-appearance alter the human experience differently, and what are its consequences on ‘being sustainable’. The presentation proposes that when atechnology enters the experience and provides an alternative frame for being, nature unfolds differently. When technology is not in between humans and nature, there is a direct relationship between the part (humans) and the whole (nature). This results in the disclosure of oneness, where the boundaries between the two spheres amalgamate, unifying being in truth. However, as human organization is largely technological and the pluralist ontology is politically of great relevance, this paper proposes complementarity between the pluralist and monist arguments regarding technology in nature. Nevertheless, the importance of the atechnological experience is claimed to be essential for a more complete understanding of the human place in nature, as well as useful in the conceptual toolkit in outlining a proper response to the hegemony of insatiable, unsustainable growth of human organization.
About Culture and the Crisis Seminar Series
The contemporary culture can be linked to crisis in many ways. It is claimed to be in crisis; to generate myriad forms of crises; and also, to be a crisis in and of itself. This working seminar series delves into the phenomena of ‘culture’ and ‘crisis’, as well as investigates their interrelations and related manifestations. The aim is to deepen our understanding on the on-going crisis: (a) its description, including the causes, processes, and consequences, and (b) the relevant normative positions.
Each session will comprise of a 30-minute presentation + a 30-minute dialogue with a preselected commenter + a 30-minute discussion with all participants. The talks will be accompanied by full working papers, or extended abstracts at minimum, which will be distributed to all participants one week in advance.
The seminar series is organized by LIMBO in collaboration with the University of Helsinki, Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, Department of Economics and Management; and Sustainable Change Research Network (SUCH). Seminars will take place on Viikki Campus, Biokeskus 1, room 3109 (‘Nahkakabinetti’) at 12-14 o’clock. For queries and registration, please contact pasi.heikkurinen@helsinki.fi.