Luke Jeffery - Martin Buber's Modes of Relationship

In class on February 12, we discussed two basic modes of relationship as outlined by Martin Buber. The first type of relationship is the I-It relationship. This occurs when I defines the object or person in the relationship, therefore creating clear bounds in the relationship. Contrastingly, in the I-Thou relationship, Thou remains undefinable and unbounded. The confrontation shifts from experience to encounter. In the I-Thou relationship, there is a continuum of reciprocity that exists between the two parties. No one party is in control, both parties are equal; whereas in the I-It relationship, I is always in control of It, and thus reciprocity is stifled.

In reflecting upon this understanding of relationships, we can learn about how we view people that we come into contact with. The I-It relationship is a shallow relationship, where we use people as means for our own good. On the other hand,, the I-Thou relationship takes a real interest in the opposite party, thus creating a mutual exchange. We must be interested in interacting with others or else our exchanges have no real value in them. In class, we talked about how we each have a project in the world and when we try to understand other people's projects, we begin to engage with the reality of who they are. We need to do this more, because there is a mutual exchange and life that comes about when we value people and care about who they are.