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202864

Wonder and technē in an age of ecological risk

Louise Economides

pp. 153-192

Abstract

Returning to a focus on ways wonder represents an alternative to sublimity. Economides addresses the question of whether wonder toward nature is still possible within the context of our hypermediated culture. Taking issue with eco-phenomenologists who argue that language and technology destroy our capacity for wonder. Economides argues that poetic applications of these modes of technē can actually augment our ability to experience nature as wondrous. She contrasts the non-anthropocentric wonder inspired by ecopoetry and by nature documentaries such as Planet Earth with the hubristic wonder associated with bioengineering, the latter being a form of what Heidegger would term "enframing" (domination). Moreover, she argues that Merleau-Ponty's account of wonder's relationship with language and technē represents an ecologically progressive answer to blind spots evident in Heidegger's phenomenology.

Publication details

Published in:

Economides Louise (2016) The ecology of wonder in romantic and postmodern literature. Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan.

Pages: 153-192

DOI: 10.1057/978-1-137-47750-7_5

Full citation:

Economides Louise (2016) Wonder and technē in an age of ecological risk, In: The ecology of wonder in romantic and postmodern literature, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan, 153–192.