Hermitix Günther Anders 'The Obsolescence of the Human' with Christopher John Müller
Mar 4, 2026
Christopher John Müller, a senior lecturer and translator of Günther Anders, introduces Anders' collage-like prose and translation choices. He discusses Promethean shame from household devices, how technology creates a separate, oppressive reality, and Anders' reading of the bomb as concentrated technological power. Short, sharp conversations about cosification, media templates, and why humans feel obsolete in a tech-shaped world.
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Promethean Shame From a Dishwasher Encounter
- Promethean shame names the feeling that machines make humans feel inferior by outperforming them.
- Christopher John Müller explains Anders' dishwasher scene: a man hides his hand because the machine makes human touch feel like a defect.
When Technology Becomes A Counterforce
- Anders locates the split where technology becomes counterforce around the Industrial Revolution when machines set rhythms humans must match.
- Müller: technology stops being an extension of us and becomes a separate entity that can render humans small and redundant.
Why The Title Uses Obsolescence
- The German title uses Antiquiertheit, which suggests antiquatedness, but Müller chose Obsolescence to capture Anders' recurring emphasis.
- Obsolescence highlights that human self-conceptions and philosophical models become pragmatically outdated.
