Title:
SUBJECT-OBJECT RELATIONSHIP AND INTER SUBJECTIVITY IN THE EXISTENTIAL PHILOSOPHICAL PROPOUNDMENT OF MARTIN BUBER: A PSYCHO-PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVE

Authors:
Ignatius Nnaemeka Onwuatuegwu ,Nigeria

Abstract:
Man is naturally selfish and hence very exploitative and possessive. This intrinsic exploitativeness and possessiveness of man which often plays out in man's relationship with the world/things, with fellowmen and finally with God- the eternal Thou is what Martin Buber termed I-It relationship. It is a blinded type of relationship since it is not open to the truth. Consequently, reality in undiscovered in the world of I-It. Invariably, as the I-It relationship is characterized by experience and utility, the question of God is not within sight. The God's question is blacketed within the world of I-It as God can neither be experienced nor exploited. Though I-It is not evil per se, however, to make the I-It a comfortable dwelling place is a serious degradation of the human dignity and a complete insult to the spiritual constituent of man. As IIt relationship is discovered to be dehumanizing, a different mode of relationship that is more acceptable to both the social, psychological and spiritual nature of man is advocated for. This relationship in which reality is approached is Intersubjectivity or what Buber in his characteristic language called I-Thou relationship. This is not an empiriological type of relationship. Rather, I-Thou relationship is ontological by nature. Within the context of I-Thou relationship, a person is regarded as well as considered a human person he is and not a thing or an object to be used. This mutual relationship of I and Thou is a healthy one and is crucial for the realization of one's personhood. The writer in a bid to achieve the desired goal of the study employed the methodological approach of philosophical reflection and appraisal