Abstract

This paper aims to evaluate few relevant aspects of Günther Anders’ workDie Antiquiertheit des Menschen , in particular the so-called promethean shame, which represents one of the most interesting concepts of his reflection. A kind of overturning of the ancient promethean myth occurred in the last century: the modern man feels ashamed when interacting with the machines, the products and the performances he can create, because these are more efficient and complete than himself. The main goal of Anders’ analysis is to show how this psychological unease reveals a deep anthropological crisis of mankind, whose essential characters–singularity, contingence, bodily fragility, situated freedom–are deeply questioned and modified by the technological development of today’s world