Contemporary Jewish Religious Thought: 
I and Thou, by Martin Buber (1878-1965)

There are two ways of relating (properly speaking, to "stand in relation" pertains only to the first mode): (1) with your whole being--meeting the whole being of the other: an "I-You" [or Thou] relationship or (2) with part of yourself, focusing on to a selected aspect of the other: an "I-It" connection. Relation takes place not as an inner experience but between the I and the You. In the I-It mode, the object is located in an objective space and time, amid other objects. In the I-You mode, the other "fills the firmament," "has no borders"; "everything else lives in [the other's] light." In the I-You mode, the person is being fully with the other. 

The world of relation arises in life with

1. Nature (e.g., the tree [pp. 57-58, Kaufman translation], which I can perceive with excellent aesthetic sensitivity, biotic intuition, or the heights of scientific understanding, but not until "will and grace are joined" am I drawn into relation. This is not a religious or mystical experience, and none of the aesthetic, vital, or scientific awareness needs to be suppressed.)
2. Human beings (p. 59)
3. Spiritual beings, e.g., God. "Extended, the lines of relationships intersect in the eternal You. Every single You is a glimpse of that. Through every single You the basic word addresses the eternal You" (p. 123).
   

Copyright 2002 - Kent State University - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Problems? Questions? Need help? Contact deb@dl.kent.edu
Course built and delivered by Kent State University Distributed Learning.