Nobody’s Driving. Reality and Technology According to Hans Blumenberg

This article schematically reconstructs Hans Blumenberg’s theses on technology by going through his extensive published and posthumous work with a fine-toothed comb. Blumenberg’s canonical takes on the themes of metaphorology, anthropology, and phenomenology are interpreted here according to a particular hypothesis, namely, that most of the German philosopher’s upshots about these subjects coalesce into the question of technology and its transformative aspect upon reality. In order to develop such proposition, (1) I argue how the question of technology remained in his thought, from its very beginning to his posthumous writings, as an enticing yet ever-changing epistemic paradigm. Likewise, (2) I ponder why such theses on technology stands out in the philosophical constellation of twentieth-century debates on this subject. Finally, (3) I address the importance on such a theme by conveying Blumenberg’s thesis on technology with his multileveled concept of reality. (4) A conclusion is also given apropos the actuality of Blumenberg’s thought among post-2020 philosophical debates.