Martin Buber was born in 1878 in Vienna and died in 1965 in Jerusalem.
A philosopher and scholar, Buber is best known for his religious philosophy of dialogue, outlined his 1923 essay “I and Thou,” and for his critiques of mainstream Zionism. His philosophy is often described as “existentialist.”
In “I and Thou,” Buber describes two kinds of relationships, the “I-It”, and the “I-Thou”. The I-It relationship is one based on detachment from others and involves a utilitarian approach, in which one uses another as an object. In contrast, in an I-Thou relationship, each person fully and equally turns toward the other with openness and ethical engagement. This kind of relationship is characterized by dialogue and by “total presentness.” In an I-Thou relationship, each participant is concerned for the other person. The honor of the other–and not just her usefulness–is of paramount importance.
The ethical response of the I-Thou relationship is central to Buber’s understanding of God. For Buber, God is the “Eternal Thou.” God is the only Thou which can never become an It. In other words, while relationships with other people will inevitably have utilitarian elements, in a genuine relationship with God, God cannot be used as a means towards an end.
In addition, our relationship with God serves as the foundation for our I-Thou relationships with all others, and every I-Thou relationship–be it with a person or thing–involves a meeting with God. God, in a sense, is the unifying context, the meeting place, for all meaningful human experience. According to Buber, one encounters God through one’s encounters with other human beings and the world. “Meet the world with the fullness of your being and you shall meet God.”
When one encounters the world in this way, revelation occurs. “God speaks to man in the things and beings he sends him in life. Man answers through his dealings with these things and beings.” The Bible itself contains models of this human experience of God. Moses perceives natural events as indications of God’s power and God’s presence in the human realm. Similarly, the power and show of natural forces at Sinai led the Israelites to accept the revelation of God’s Torah.
Buber’s poetic and influential book I and Thou distinguishes between two types of relations between people. In one model, which he calls "I-It," we relate to others as members of categories or as instruments of achievement. In the other, "I-Thou" or "I-You" (translations from the original German differ), we relate with the entirety of our being to another whole person. For Buber, this is more than a way of relating to others; it is also how we can, a bit at a time, experience God’s presence in the world.
Excerpts from I-Thou
The I of the basic word I-Thou is different from that of the basic word I-It.
The I of the basic word I-It appears as an ego and becomes conscious of itself as a subject (of experience and use).
The I of the basic word I-Thou appears as a person and becomes conscious of itself as subjectivity (without any dependent genetive–i.e., without any "of" clause).
Egos appear by setting themselves apart from other egos.
Persons appear by entering into relation to other persons.
One is the spiritual form of natural differentiation, the other that of natural association.
The purpose of setting oneself apart is to experience and use, and the purpose of that is "living"–which means dying one human life long.
The purpose of relation is the relation itself–touching the Thou. For as soon as we touch a Thou, we are touched by a breath of eternal life.
The world is not comprehensible, but it is embraceable: through the embracing of one of its beings.
