cosmotechnics

The 'Preamble' of Yuk Hui's 'The Question Concerning Technology in China' sets the stage for a philosophical inquiry into the relationship between technology and cosmology, particularly within the Chinese context. It invokes reflections on the loss of the cosmos in modernity, referencing thinkers like D.H. Lawrence and Martin Heidegger, and hints at the political and cultural conditions under which China might become 'free' for technology. The preamble also situates the work within a broader intellectual and institutional framework, acknowledging its publication context and support.

In the preface, Yuk Hui reflects on his intellectual journey from his teenage fascination with Neo-Confucian cosmogony and astrophysics to his engagement with Western philosophy and contemporary thought. He describes how encounters with philosophers like Keiji Nishitani and Bernard Stiegler helped him approach the question of technology through the lens of time, leading to his formulation of 'cosmotechnics'—the idea that multiple technics exist ontologically and cosmologically, not just functionally or aesthetically. Hui also expresses gratitude to numerous scholars and institutions that supported his work.

The chapter develops the concept of cosmotechnics as the integration of cosmic and moral orders through technical activities, emphasizing the cultural specificity of technology beyond Western naturalism. It explores Chinese cosmology, particularly the notions of resonance (Ganying), Qi and Dao unification, and the eight trigrams, to illustrate a holistic worldview where technology is embedded in moral and cosmological relations. The text critiques the universalizing tendencies of Western technological dualism and highlights the historical challenges China faced in technologically modernizing without losing its cultural epistemes, advocating for culturally grounded technological development in the digital era.

The chapter explores the 'ontological turn' as a contemporary philosophical movement aimed at overcoming modernity by challenging Kantian metaphysics and anthropocentrism through relational ontologies and cosmomorphosis. It critiques simplistic returns to archaic cosmologies due to the pervasive influence of European naturalism and technological globalization, advocating instead for a nuanced understanding of nature and cosmotechnics informed by Chinese Dao cosmology and Simondon's philosophy of individuation. This approach rethinks human-nature relations and modernity from a Chinese vantage point without naively reverting to ancient truths.

In this chapter, Yuk Hui outlines the methodological approach for his inquiry into the relationship between Qi and Dao in Chinese philosophy and technology. He emphasizes avoiding symmetrical comparisons between European and Chinese concepts, advocating instead for recognizing asymmetry and relational thinking. Hui also distances his approach from postcolonial critiques by focusing on a materialist critique that foregrounds material practice and cosmological understanding rather than mere narratives of power.

The chapter examines the contrasting Chinese and Greek philosophical conceptions of technics and nature, focusing on Dao as an unconditioned, non-hierarchical principle versus the Greek notion of technē as a form of metaphysical violence that perfects nature. Heidegger's reinterpretation of dikē as fittingness rather than legal justice is central, highlighting the violent confrontation between technē and dikē as necessary for revealing the order of Being. The chapter concludes by exploring technics as a poetic, harmonious engagement with cosmic order, rooted in ancient Greek cosmology and the balance maintained by the apeiron, emphasizing geometry's role in justice and political harmony.

The chapter examines Stoic and Daoist cosmotechnics by contrasting their shared commitment to living in accordance with nature with their differing valuations of rationality and virtue. It details the Stoic conception of eudaimonia as ethical virtue aligned with a rational, cyclical cosmos, mediated by the concept of oikeiosis, and contrasts this with Daoism's emphasis on spontaneous freedom and wu wei. The chapter also explores how Stoic practices of self-care and meditation relate to their cosmotechnical framework and how these were transformed in early Christian thought.

This chapter examines the Gu Wen movement during the Tang dynasty as a form of resistance aimed at reaffirming the unity of Qi and Dao in Chinese philosophy, particularly against the influence of Buddhism and the perceived superstition it introduced. The movement sought to restore Confucian values by emphasizing writing as a form of Qi that enlightens Dao, opposing the ornate Pin Wen style and advocating a return to ancient Confucian teachings. The chapter contrasts the views of Han Yu, who emphasized a conservative Confucian Dao, with Liu Zongyuan, who integrated Buddhist concepts, highlighting the ongoing negotiation of cosmological and moral unity in Chinese thought.

The chapter examines Song Yingxing's pioneering metaphysical theory in his encyclopaedia Tian Gong Kai Wu, which elevates Qi from a mere functional principle to a central metaphysical force in the individuation of technical and physical beings within Neo-Confucian cosmotechnics. It highlights Song's relational materialism view of ch'i, mediated through the five elements (Wu Xing), and emphasizes the critical role of human technical intervention in shaping forms and functions, while also critiquing traditional Neo-Confucian correlations between natural phenomena and moral or political virtue as superstitious.

This chapter examines the 1935 intellectual debate in China surrounding the 'Manifesto for a China-Oriented Cultural Development,' which criticized both superficial integration of Western thought and full Westernization, advocating instead for a synthesis that preserves Chinese cultural roots while embracing science and technology. Hu Shi's pragmatic response emphasized cultural inertia, suggesting that Western influences would inevitably be transformed into uniquely Chinese forms. The chapter highlights the marginalization of technology as a distinct philosophical concern, often subsumed under science, and notes the fading of ancient cosmotechnics in favor of ideology-driven debates on science and democracy.

This chapter explores Joseph Needham's analysis of the distinctiveness of ancient Chinese technological and philosophical thought, emphasizing the predominance of an organic and holistic worldview over a mechanical one. Needham argues that Chinese culture lacked a mechanical conception of nature and laws akin to those in Europe, where natural laws were linked to divine law-givers, resulting in different developmental trajectories for technology and science. The chapter highlights how Chinese cosmotechnics, grounded in moral and hierarchical principles, shaped a unique approach to nature and technology distinct from Western legalistic and mechanistic paradigms.

The chapter explores the transformation of Chinese metaphysics (xing er shang xue) under the influence of Marxist dialectics and Engels's Dialectics of Nature, which became foundational for China's technological modernization during Mao's era. It critiques the disruption of traditional human-cosmological coherence and the universalization of European technological reason, advocating for a new cosmotechnical thinking that reconnects Chinese philosophical traditions with technology to address cultural disorientation and ecological challenges in the Anthropocene.

This chapter examines how technology functions as an externalized form of memory shaped by cosmological and environmental conditions, challenging universalist views of technology. It contrasts Greek and Chinese/Japanese cosmotechnics, highlighting how the Greek bright and distinct fûdo fostered geometry and a specific mode of observation, while Chinese cultural and cosmological conditions, including ambivalent conceptions of time and history, produced different technological trajectories. The chapter also addresses the paradox of contemporary China's rapid technological advancement amid cultural disorientation and tensions between westernization and Chinese identity.

The chapter critically examines Eastern philosophical attempts, particularly from the Kyoto School, to overcome modernity's technological unconsciousness, highlighting their failure due to reliance on dualism and the problematic political consequences such as metaphysical fascism. It further analyzes Heidegger's metaphysical critique of Western modernity, his controversial views on Jews and 'Asiatics,' and his call for a 'homecoming' to preserve European identity. Ultimately, the chapter advocates for a pluralistic approach to technology through the concept of 'cosmotechnics,' emphasizing cultural re-appropriation rather than exclusive metaphysical or nationalist frameworks.

The chapter examines China's rapid technological modernization and its disconnection from traditional Chinese philosophical reflections, highlighting the loss of moral cosmology amid accelerated development. It situates China's experience within the Anthropocene, critiquing modernity's Cartesian dualism as central to the ecological crisis and arguing against simplistic notions of resetting modernity due to its self-perpetuating logic. Emphasizing the tension between technological advancement and traditional cosmotechnics, the chapter calls for rethinking the human-cosmos relationship by drawing on ancient Chinese ecological wisdom as a guide for sustainable coexistence and governance.

Yuk Hui critiques the dominance of a capitalist-imposed global episteme that suppresses diverse cosmotechnical knowledge systems and calls for a new practice and knowledge that transcends the homogenizing global time-axis of modernity. He argues that locality must actively appropriate and transform global technological time through reinterpreting Chinese metaphysical concepts like Qi and Dao, envisioning a pluriversal cosmotechnics that fosters internal resonance between humans and technology and resists the entropic tendencies of capitalist globalization.

The chapter 'INDEX OF SUBJECTS' from Yuk Hui's 'The Question Concerning Technology in China' provides a comprehensive index of philosophical, cultural, and technological concepts central to the book's discourse. It emphasizes the interplay between Chinese and Western thought through key themes such as cosmotechnics, Daoism, Confucianism, Heideggerian ontology, and the philosophy of technology, while critically engaging with modernity, historicity, and technological unconsciousness within both Chinese and global contexts.