Oliver Müller

This essay explores the nature of being visible and its normative dimensions. In a first part, core traits of an anthropology of visibility are sketched, drawing mainly on Hans Blumenberg’s phenomenological studies. In a second part, human visibility is investigated regarding its implications for our self-understanding, for our relation to others, and for the publicness of our existence. Apart from Blumenberg, also Jean-Paul Sartre, Charles Taylor, Hannah Arendt are involved in this examination. In a third part, two ‘basic rights’ are brought into focus: the right to be seen and the right to remain unseen. In addition to the philosophical exploration, texts by Ralph Ellison, Elena Ferrante and Dave Eggers are discussed as literary references. In a fourth part, a performance by Marina Abramovic that thematised the connection of visibility and recognition is introduced and analysed.

: „Tool-Thinking“. Ernst Cassirer’s Theory of the ‚En-technologization‘ of Self- and World-Relation. In my paper, I discuss Ernst Cassirer’s philosophy of technology from a new perspective. By coining the neologism ‚En-technisierung‘ (‚entechnologization‘), I want to demonstrate that Cassirer understands technology as a very basic form of human self-externalization and engagement with the world. Therefore, I firstly trace the notion of technology in different contexts of Cassirer’s philosophy: his ideas regarding how ‚mind‘ evolves from life; his theory of human expression as the basis for the development of symbolic forms; and his studies on apraxia. Secondly, I drawon the relevant passages of the second volume of Philosophie der symbolischen Formen, on Form und Technik, and on some of his literary remains, in order to identify the main traits of technology as a symbolic form, such as its capability to reveal objectivity and to open a horizon of possibilities that essentially shape the technical relation between man and world. Finally, I will provide some comments on the connection between ‚Entechnisierung‘ and ‚enactivism‘ (or 4E cognition).

In den Publikationen der Synthetischen Biologie und in Darstellungen dieser neuen Biotechnologie finden sich häufig Begriffe des Herstellens, Konstruierens, Erschaffens und Kreierens. Im folgenden Beitrag wird dieses Begriffsfeld auf der Basis von technikphilosophischen und kunsttheoretischen Ansätzen systematisiert. Es wird erstens untersucht, inwiefern sich die verschiedenen Forschungsrichtungen in der Synthetischen Biologie mit diesem Begriffsinstrumentarium angemessen beschreiben lassen; zweitens wird analysiert, welche ethischen Fragestellungen mit den unterschiedlichen Begriffen des Herstellens und Erschaffens im Fall der Synthetischen Biologie verbunden sind.