Analysis of Martin Buber's I and Thou

Martin Buber’s I and Thou argues that humans engage with the world in two ways. One is with the attitude of an ‘I’ towards an ‘It’, where the self stands apart from objects as items of experience or use. The other is with the attitude of an ‘I’ towards a ‘Thou’, where the self enters into real relation with other people, or nature, or God. Addressing modern technological society, Buber claims that while the ‘I-It’ attitude is necessary for existence, human life finds its meaning in personal relationships of the ‘I-Thou’ sort. I and Thou is Buber’s masterpiece, the basis of his religious philosophy of dialogue, and among the most influential studies of the human condition in the 20th century.

Dr Simon Ravenscroft is a Research Associate at the Von Hügel Institute for Critical Catholic Inquiry at St Edmund’s College in the University of Cambridge. His research interests run across the disciplines of theology, philosophy, social theory, and literature. His doctoral dissertation at Cambridge (2015) looked at the relationship between society and economy through an analysis of the work of the Catholic radical Ivan Illich.