Giorgio Agamben indicates that through the state of exception it is possible to connect two dimensions which, in principle, are lacking of any relationship between them, namely bare life and normativity. The state of exception seems to express a manipulative rationality by which life is subject to violence. In contrast, Schmitt addresses the problem of technology and reveals that it, ultimately, is a form of manipulative rationality. Through an analysis of his understanding of technical rationality, this article attempts to determine the scope and limits of the Schmittian theory of the state of exception.