RETHINKING PHÝSIS AND TÉCHNE: TOWARD A TECHNICAL ONTOLOGY OF THE EVENT

Abstract

This paper traces a set of connections between Martin Heidegger and Bernard Stiegler around the conceptual nexus of event and technology. It proceeds in three steps. First, it examines what is at stake in these themes within Heidegger’s thought, showing how the notion of the event represents the culmination of his effort to move beyond metaphysical foundations. Second, it highlights certain critical elements in Heidegger’s treatment of the relation between τέχνη and φύσις, which risk constraining his account of technicity within residual metaphysical structures. Finally, drawing on Aristotle’s notion of the “accidental cause”, the paper outlines the space for a singularity that can be described as the technical event. This is further clarified through Stiegler’s concept of the “invention of the human”, which theorizes the co-emergence of human being and technology. In this way, the paper argues that Stiegler both fulfils and develops beyond Heidegger’s project of rethinking the relation between human being, technology, and event.