Human beings, machines and sufferings: a prospective from Simone Weil
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14422/pen.v81.i313.y2025.011Keywords:
suffering, technique, machine, technology, freedom, WeilAbstract
The identity of the human being is questioned by a technological society that challenges the foundations of Christian anthropology. The article presents Simone Weil's thoughts on the dominance of the machine and the suffering of the worker in the 20th century factory. It reveals the common ground between the philosopher's analysis and today's technological logic. The article focuses on the tipping point which lies in human's renunciation to exercise their freedom in favor of technical mechanisms. As a result, the individual reduces themselves to the level of an object, considering themselves as a tool, and falls into despair. In the face of this situation, the virtue of fortitude developed by Josef Pieper allows for nourishing intellectual resistance.
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References
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