Romanticism against the Machine?
Romanticism against the Machine?
Chapter 3 shows how romanticism (historical Romanticism and romanticism more broadly defined) is usually seen in opposition to technology: in the past, by many Romantics themselves, but also by later interpreters and critics – including philosophers of technology. Romanticism is usually seen as an attempt to escape the machine; it is the machine’s very antithesis. Even contemporary philosophers who claim to reject a romantic view of technology tend to presuppose the romantic dialectic. It turns out that the writings of Weber, Heidegger, and Benjamin are more ambiguous with regard to technology than usually supposed. This point is also supported by a discussion of the relation between romanticism and technology in an American context. Perhaps romanticism and technology are sometimes compatible.
Keywords: Romanticism, Machine, Romanticism and machine, dualism, Romantic dialectic, Weber, Heidegger, Benjamin, Leo Marx, Melville, Mary Shelley
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