Description: 100 years after its original publication, Martin Buber's landmark work of philosophy and theology I and Thou remains one of the most important books of Western thought and a seminal work of 20th-century intellectual history.
Considered to be one of the most influential books of Western thought since its original publication in 1923, Martin Buber's slender volume I and Thou influenced the way we think about our relationships with one another and with God. Buber unites currents of modern German philosophy with the Judeo-Christian tradition, powerfully updating faith for modern times. I and Thou is Martin Buber's pioneering work and the centerpiece of his groundbreaking philosophy. In it, Buber--one of the greatest Jewish minds of the 20th century--lays out a view of the world in which human beings can enter into relationships that enhance their mutual existential dignity (I-Thou relations). These "dialogical" relations contrast with those that tend to prevail in modern society, namely the treatment of others as objects to advance personal and collective interests (I-It relations). Buber demonstrates how I-Thou interhuman meetings reflect and embody the human meeting with God. For Buber, the essence of biblical religion affirms the possibility of a dialogue between man and God.Brief description: Martin Buber (1878-1965) was a prolific author, scholar, literary translator, and political activist whose writings--mostly in German and Hebrew--ranged from Jewish mysticism to social philosophy, biblical studies, religious phenomenology, philosophical anthropology, education, politics, and art. Upon his emigration from Nazi Germany to Palestine in 1938, he assumed a professorship in social philosophy at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Until his death in Jerusalem, he was an unflagging advocate on Arab-Jewish fraternity and rapprochement. Buber was recurrently nominated for a Nobel Prize in literature and in Peace.
Review Quotes: "In this time of social media and value conflicts of every kind, the hundredth anniversary of I and Thou comes at an opportune moment, laying out once again Buber's heartfelt vision of the dialogical life. In lapidary prose, Buber eloquently exposes the deadening effect of self-referential attitudes on all our relations -- with other people, with nature and even with God himself. This book is deeply spiritual and at the same time personal as it lucidly distinguishes the mere experience of "I-It" relations from the profoundly different and dynamic presence of the "I-Thou" encounter. It is utterly timely in its insistent call for openness and genuine meeting, which is precisely
what's missing in our contemporary lives and in our politics at every level." --JERRY BROWN, former 34th and 39th governor of California