Techne

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Techne , old Gr. τέχνη ( téchne ), is an ancient Greek term that is still important in European philosophy for the understanding of art, science and technology.

History of meaning

Depending on the context of the meaning and the philosophical tradition, the term occurs in different Latinized spellings: Texnh, téchne, technê, technē, techné and techne . Its broad and rich meaning developed through centuries of ancient Greek philosophy . The changes, extensions and formations of its meaning were promoted and shaped by ancient Roman takeovers and reinterpretations up to the Christian era, partly by traditions up to the Middle Ages, and by influences from other cultural traditions.

Homer and Pre-Socratics

The origin of the pre-Socratic conception of techne can be reconstructed from the Iliad (recorded around the 13th / 12th and 7th centuries BC). There technē meant the skills of the craftsmen who were referred to by the name tekton .

Even in the early days of Greece, technē was no longer tied to handicraft activity or manufacturing and production, but became a process and method for every type of activity. “As this practical knowledge, it enables predictive calculation and purposeful action: where technē determines the action, there is a τέλος, a goal towards which it is worked, something that moves, a work or an act that should be realized. This makes technē a means of systematically reaching a goal. "

The distinction between applied and free art that is known today, possibly also between basic research and applied research, is reminiscent of the importance of techne in handicrafts, trades, professions and offices that were differentiated according to their reputation in Greek society: the techne of the socially inferior , so-called “ banausischen ” trades (“ artes mechanicae ”) such as undertakers, bankers, ointment manufacturers, cooks and blacksmiths had a different status than the techne of the so-called “higher”, or, as they were later called, “liberal arts” (“ artes liberales “), Performed by musicians, poets and scientists, but also by speakers trained in rhetoric , by medically trained doctors and by actors with a mastery of the stage arts.

Sophists

The sophistic scholars among the pre-Socratics, beginning with Protagoras (485-415 BC), paid particular attention to the training of their students in rhetoric, Greek ῥητορική [τέχνη] , rhetorikē (technē) . Building on the art of speech, the first approaches to developing a generally applicable methodology become visible, how knowledge can be structured and passed on convincingly (cf. rhetoric in the case of sophists ). Until now, the traditional skills of the craftsmen are considered to be craftsmanship, while the art of speech, as an example of trained skill, is assumed to have a rather "higher meaning".

Socrates and Plato

Another change connects to the modern development of the term in the sense of science: “The tendency to understand all human knowledge as technê developed in the fifth century with the rise of Athens and was at the time of Socrates (469-399 BC). ) in full validity. ”The conception of Plato (428 / 427–348 / 347 BC) , which emerged a little later, emerges from his dialogue with Gorgias . “According to Plato's techno model, every techne is based on knowledge, epistéme : on a knowledge of the object with which this techne is dealing and on the knowledge of the goals and purposes it is supposed to achieve. The Platonic techne stands in an intentional and teleological relationship to its object : it is oriented towards something for something or for someone. The goal that is to be achieved through the performance of the techne , the ergon , is ultimately always the good for the object of the techne . ”In Plato's emphasis on knowledge, in the sense of epistéme as the basis for techne , it becomes apparent that he“ das I wanted to see the foundation of teaching no longer in mere artistry, but in science. "

Aristotle

Aristotle (384–322 BC) introduces differentiations that develop the term techne in the direction of the modern distinction between technology and science, but do not make it directly comparable with our present-day understanding of "technology". Aristotle assigns techne to the poietic part of human activities or sciences. "In contrast to Plato and the previous philosophers, for whom the terms techne and epistéme were largely interchangeable, there are sections in which a sharp distinction is made between techne and epistéme (...)."

Aristotle also clearly distinguishes between theorists and practitioners. “Every art is a system of fixed rules that have to be applied to the individual case. It has two sides: the theoretical of the regulated procedure based on the recognition of the causes (μέϑοδος, méthodos) and the practical, application-oriented of a corresponding competence or ability (δύναμς, dýnamis), which the one who creates the work of art has. " "Methodology only guarantees an art conception that also specifies the reasons and causes of action, such as those found in the doctrine of affect in Aristotelian" rhetoric "." Without methodology, one can only work "at random". "In this Aristotle sees the difference between his τέχνη, téchne and that of the sophists".

Today's meaning

Conclusions about the word meaning of techne formed from the everyday understanding of the term technology are incorrect. The original term does not contain any distinction between today's categories of art and technology . The ancient Greek meaning is today generally understood only approximately (cf. technology) with ability, artistry, craft, in modern philosophy also as 'art theory' (in the tradition of the sophist Protagoras).

Since the science, art and technology conveyed by technical media have come together in digital form, because everything that has ever been depicted and written can be transformed, related and stored in binary code , the term techne , expanded in this sense, has found contemporary expressions in philosophical discourse . An example: “On the one hand, it is important to understand media machineries as reflections of the needs, drives and phantasms of a human race that practices practical anthropology , not least in the form of techné , but on the other hand it is important to ask how this medial techné affects the state of the People change, vary and modify, which does not simply place itself statically between people and the world, but by first constituting the latter in the form we are familiar with today, it also brings those moments of the staged and imaginary into focus. "

In 2019, the Association of Berlin Artists , together with the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande du Sul UFRGS, realized the double exhibition Techne in the city hall of Porto Alegre and in the gallery of the Association of Berlin Artists.

literature

  • Rudolf Löbl: Texnh-Techne: Investigations into the meaning of this word in the time from Homer to Aristotle. Vol. 1: From Homer to the Sophists. Königshausen & Neumann, Würzburg 1997, ISBN 3-8260-1366-2 .
  • Rudolf Löbl: Texnh-Techne: Investigations into the meaning of this word in the time from Homer to Aristotle. Vol. 2: From the Sophists to Aristotle. Königshausen & Neumann, Würzburg 2003, ISBN 3-8260-2446-X .
  • Rudolf Löbl: Texnh-Techne: Investigations into the meaning of this word in the time after Aristotle . Vol. 3: The time of Hellenism. Königshausen & Neumann, Würzburg 2008, ISBN 3-8260-2446-X .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Rudolf Löbl: Texnh: investigation into the meaning of this word in the time from Homer to Aristotle. From Homer to the Sophists . tape 1 . Königshausen & Neumann, Würzburg 1997, ISBN 3-8260-1366-2 , p. 11.1 .
  2. ↑ Rudolf Löbl: Texnh: investigation into the meaning of this word in the time from Homer to Aristotle. From Homer to the Sophists . tape 1 . Königshausen & Neumann, Würzburg 1997, ISBN 3-8260-1366-2 , p. 211.2 .
  3. ↑ Rudolf Löbl: Texnh: investigation into the meaning of this word in the time from Homer to Aristotle. From Homer to the Sophists . tape 1 . Königshausen & Neumann, Würzburg 1997, ISBN 3-8260-1366-2 , p. 211.4 f .
  4. ^ Franz-Hubert Robling: Orator and Rhetoric. Study on the conceptual and idea history of the speaker ideal . Felix Meiner, 2007, ISBN 978-3-7873-1834-6 , ISSN  0003-8946 , p. 38.1 .
  5. ^ Günther Figal: Socrates . 3. Edition. CH Beck, Munich 2006, ISBN 3-406-54747-8 , p. 56.3 .
  6. ^ Plato: Georgia . In: Joachim Dalfen (Ed.): Platon Works: Translation and Commentary . 1st edition. VI 3. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2004, ISBN 3-525-30422-6 , p. 175.2 .
  7. ^ Franz-Hubert Robling: Orator and Rhetoric. Study on the conceptual and idea history of the speaker ideal . Felix Meiner, 2007, ISBN 978-3-7873-1834-6 , ISSN  0003-8946 , p. 87.1 .
  8. ↑ Wilfried Fiedler: Analogy models in Aristotle . BR Grüner, 1978, ISBN 90-6032-095-6 , p. 169.1 .
  9. ^ Franz-Hubert Robling: Orator and Rhetoric. Study on the conceptual and idea history of the speaker ideal . Felix Meiner, 2007, ISBN 978-3-7873-1834-6 , ISSN  0003-8946 , p. 56.2 .
  10. ↑ Martin Heidegger: The question of technology. (1953, lecture) In: Lectures and essays. 10th edition. Klett-Cotta, Stuttgart 2004, ISBN 3-608-91090-5 .
  11. ^ Franz-Hubert Robling: Orator and Rhetoric. Study on the conceptual and idea history of the speaker ideal . Felix Meiner, 2007, ISBN 978-3-7873-1834-6 , ISSN  0003-8946 , p. 86.1; 87.1; 105.1 .
  12. ↑ Hans Ulrich Reck: Staged Imagination. Contributions to a historical anthropology of the media . Ed .: Wolfgang Müller-Funk, Hans Ulrich Reck. Springer, Vienna / New York 1996, p. 1 .
  13. ^ Techne publication. Art In Flow, accessed November 10, 2019 .
  14. ^ News for Tiergarten Süd. Right in the middle, accessed on November 10, 2019 .
  15. ^ Techne. Association of Berlin Artists, accessed on November 10, 2019 .