Promethean Shame as the Hidden Instrumentum Redemptionis Humanae

social relations in the technosphere
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Abstract:

This article draws on the terminology of Günther Anders to identify three different forms of crisis in contemporary society: the crisis of freedom, the crisis of humanity as subject of history, and the crisis of shame. The article is composed of three different sections. The first section analyses Anders’ early anthropological works to show how freedom has turned into its own negation. The second section examines the other two types of crisis revolving around Anders’ notion of Promethean shame and techné. Building on these discussions, the final section offers an open suggestion for  re-thinking the possibility of redeeming human action within the  technological determinism of our epoch via an Andersian-inspired hypothesis.