In Heidegger's "The Question Concerning Technology," he takes a look at the ways that we understand technology and its essence. He describes technology as something that achieves an unconcealing, an ordering, a bringing about. Technology, in its essence as enframing, "orders revealing" that is done by man. Heidegger really has a way with his words when he talks about concealing, revealing, ordering, enframing, etc. but the way I understood it is that the common conception of technology and its function in revealing and ordering is that man acts upon technology as an instrument of causality, in the bringing about of knowledge or the unconcealing of the concealed. Heidegger challenges that understanding, particularly in the context of modern technology. While "technology" in general is a way of revealing (as instrument, from the traditional understanding of causality,) Heidegger sees modern technology as a challenging in the process of revealing. It is a "challenging revealing," a "setting upon," which becomes a way of oppression.
The way of helping us to understand this oppression is by talking about the "real as standing-reserve." The idea is that, under enframing, the real reveals itself (through technology?) only as standing-reserve, and nothing else. Everything comes to being, becomes unconcealed only as a form of energy, or as having the potential for that energy. Heidegger talks about the plane on the runway only being revealed as standing-reserve. It is only real in the sense that it has the potential for some utility. The idea of real as standing-reserve and this sort of revealing is dangerous according to Heidegger, because man himself becomes ordered as standing-reserve and not as subject; just as nature/things become ordered as standing-reserve and not object. In this type of an ordering, man sees himself as "lord of the earth," even while viewing/ordering himself and mankind as standing-reserve. When we look at not only things and nature and technology, but ourselves and others, exclusively in terms of their productive potential (or capacity to give energy, resources, etc.) this is a dangerous world indeed, and this point of view can perhaps help us understand many of the crises that currently take hold under modern technology.
For instance, various economic problems, poverty, etc. can be understood in a way when we see that man as lord-of-earth has viewed himself, money, resources, economies, industries as standing-reserve. In viewing things as such, they are only useful in their ability to produce or to give- but in ordering as standing-reserve, this oppressive act leads to exploitation, to the abuse of natural resources, to the wealth of some at the empoverishment of others. The issue of pollution can be understood when we see that mankind has oppressively demanded production out of both nature and industry. Slavery, to bring up an older topic, is a great example of ordering as standing-reserve, and the dangers of viewing man as such a resource. Perhaps that example best of all could demonstrate to us the dangers of this form of ordering in modern society. Nature, industry, etc. are all enslaved to mankind as resources, but mankind himself is also under this form of slavery. Looking at things like this makes one realize just how often we do tend to order things in their capacity to give- and ignore any other form of ordering, revealing, etc. As Heidegger says, this is the greatest danger, that we have given ourselves over to a form of ordering and revealing that disables us from any other form. We can no longer think of things themselves, we can no longer understand ourselves as humans (or what the essence of the thing or the human is) because we are given over to the Enframing which demands a revealing and ordering as standing-reserve. This paints a stark picture of modern society, but it also helps us understand why things are the way they are. With understanding, perhaps we can then see other options or explore other ways of thinking, other ways of revealing. I think this is the hope that Heidegger leaves us with at the end, and he mentions art as revealing as one potential way. This is a start, and I believe that the exploration of other ways of ordering/revealing are key to solving the problems to modern society, which is why I think this work by Heidegger is so important.
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