The discourse on technology in the early XXth-century German cultural criticism

This article analyzes views on technology within the framework of early 20th-century German Kulturkritik (cultural criticism). By examining the concepts of thinkers such as G. Simmel, K. Jaspers, O. Spengler, and H. Freyer, the authors aim to present Kulturkritik as a holistic yet multifaceted paradigm of philosophical critique directed at modernity in general and its technical dimension in particular. While these thinkers share an understanding of technology as a fundamental «form of life» rather than a mere instrument, they also frequently portray it in their discourse as a force threatening human subjectivity, freedom, and vitality. Finally, the authors demonstrate the diversity of approaches within this critique – ranging from a pessimistic diagnosis of alienation and massification to attempts to integrate technology into a new political and cultural reality (e.g., within the framework of «reactionary modernism»).