scholarly journals In the Middle of Love: At the Fringes of Personhood. An Explorative Essay on the Dialogue of I and Thou and the Poetics of the Impersonal

Religions ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 435
Author(s):  
Kasper Lysemose
Keyword(s):  
Soren Kierkegaard ◽  
Martin Buber ◽  
Word Of God ◽  
Middle Term ◽  
I And Thou ◽  
God's Love ◽  
Works Of Love ◽  
Philosophy Of Dialogue ◽  
The Absolute ◽  
Dyadic Relation

In Works of Love, Søren Kierkegaard introduces the idea that God’s love is “the middle term.” It is a love that manages to be in the middle of all created being. To that extent, love is not just one relation among others, but the “being-in-relation” as such. It is, in Heideggerian terms, “the with” of being-with. This implies, further, that the middle is as inconspicuous as it is ubiquitous. According to Martin Buber, however, there is a privileged relation to the middle in the I–Thou relation. It is here that it reveals itself. For Buber, this is so on the strength of two important traits of this dyadic relation: that it is dialogical and personal. It is in dialogue that I and You are responsive to the word of God; and it is in personal co-presence that the theophany of “the absolute person” may occur. This paper explores these tenets of “philosophy of dialogue” at their fringes. Accordingly, it explores the impersonal in the person and the monologue in dialogue. More specifically, it aims to show how: (a) the impersonal in the person is disclosed in love and angst and how (b) the monologue in dialogue is expressed in a poetics of the impersonal.

scholarly journals God, the Middle Term: Bonhoeffer, Kierkegaard, and Christ’s Mediation in Works of Love

Religions ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 78
Author(s):  
Koert Verhagen
Keyword(s):  
Soren Kierkegaard ◽  
Christian Life ◽  
Middle Term ◽  
Ethical Implications ◽  
Social Sphere ◽  
The Social ◽  
Works Of Love ◽  
Key Aspects

In this article, I argue that in Works of Love Søren Kierkegaard stays true to his Lutheran roots in detailing an ethic of neighbor love that draws deeply on and unfolds the implications of the inseparable realities of justification and Christ’s mediation in the social sphere. The article unfolds in two parts. Since neither of these realities are explicit in Works of Love, the first part considers Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s account of Christ as mediator in order to provide a framework for thinking about and identifying their presence in Kierkegaard’s thought. Engaging with Bonhoeffer in this manner is particularly useful, not least because he was deeply influenced by Kierkegaard and also stood in the Lutheran tradition, but also because although he outlines the expansive nature of Christ’s mediatorial work to tantalizing effect, he never unfolds its concrete, ethical implications for the Christian life. With the key aspects of Bonhoeffer’s account in mind, the second part of this article demonstrates and argues for an overlooked theological dynamic in Works of Love: namely, that Kierkegaard’s account of God’s mediation not only shares these keys aspects, but also unfolds the ethical implications of Christ’s mediation for the Christian life.

scholarly journals The Place of Hermann Cohen’s Ideas in the Philosophy of Dialogue

2020 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
pp. 62-94
Author(s):  
I. Dvorkin
Keyword(s):  
Point Of View ◽  
Personal Relationship ◽  
Franz Rosenzweig ◽  
System A ◽  
Philosophical System ◽  
I And Thou ◽  
Philosophy Of Dialogue ◽  
History Of ◽  
Religion Of Reason ◽  
Hermann Cohen

My aim is to prove that Hermann Cohen was not only a philosopher of dialogue but has played an exceedingly important role in the history of that current of thought. His books Ethics of Pure Will (1904) and Religion of Reason out of the Sources of Judaism (1919) offer a detailed analysis of the relationships between I and Thou, I and It, I and We. In the first book these relationships are considered from the ethical-legal point of view and in the second from the viewpoint of religious anthropology. However, Cohen considers the problem of inter-personal relationships not in isolation, but as an important component of his entire philosophical system. Deduction of the concept of personality in Ethics of Pure Will is based on Cohen’s logic of the origin expounded in the first part of his system in The Logic of Pure Cognition. Cohen explains that the origin of the self-consciousness of I as a personality is not the external world, but another person, i.e. Thou. In turn, the partnership relationships between I and Thou create the community We which forms the basis of the law-governed state. The process of artistic creation in the framework of inter-personal relationship is explored in Aesthetics of Pure Feeling. Finally, Religion of Reason out of the Sources of Judaism formulates the conception of religion as the most complete realisation of inter-personal relationship. Thus, dialogism became an important dimension of Cohen’s entire philosophical system, a fact noted by Martin Buber. Franz Rosenzweig, in unfolding dialogical thinking, expressly appeals to all the elements of Cohen’s system. There are signs of his influence on Bakhtin’s doctrine. Thus, examining Cohen’s doctrine as part of the philosophy of dialogue gives insights into this entire trend as a coherent whole.

Feuerbach, Ludwig Andreas (1804–72)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hans-Martin Sass
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Religious Orientation ◽  
Great Influence ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Karl Barth ◽  
Radical Critique ◽  
I And Thou ◽  
God's Love ◽  
The Future ◽  
Moral System

Ludwig Feuerbach, one of the critical Young Hegelian intellectuals of the nineteenth century, has become famous for his radical critique of religious belief. In Das Wesen des Christentums (Essence of Christianity) (1841) he develops the idea that God does not exist in reality but as a human projection only, and that the Christian principles of love and solidarity should be applied directly to fellow humans rather than being regarded as an indirect reflection of God’s love. In religion, the believer ‘projects his being into objectivity, and then again makes himself an object of an object, another being than himself’. Religious orientation is an illusion and is unhealthy, as it deprives and alienates the believer from true autonomy, virtue and community, ‘for even love, in itself the deepest, truest emotion, becomes by means of religiousness merely ostensible, illusory, since religious love gives itself to man only for God’s sake, so that it is given only in appearance to man, but in reality to God’ (Feuerbach 1841: 44, 48). In Grundsätze der Philosophie der Zukunft (Principles of the Philosophy of the Future) (1843) he extends his criticism to all forms of metaphysics and religion: ‘True Dialectics is not the Monologue of the sole Thinker, rather the Dialogue between I and Thou’, he writes in paragraph 62 (1846–66 II: 345), criticizing in particular his former teacher Hegel. The philosophy of the future has to be both sensual and communal, equally based on theory and practice and among individuals. In an anonymous encyclopedia article (1847) he defines his position: ‘the principle from which Feuerbach derives everything and towards which he targets everything is "the human being on the ground and foundation of nature"’, a principle which ‘bases truth on sensuous experience and thus replaces previous particular and abstract philosophical and religious principles’ (1964– III: 331). Feuerbach’s sensualism and communalism had great influence on the young Karl Marx’s development of an anthropological humanism, and on his contemporaries in providing a cultural and moral system of reference for humanism outside of religious orientation and rationalistic psychology. In the twentieth century, Feuerbach influenced existential theology (Martin Buber, Karl Barth) as well as existentialist and phenomenological thought.

The Natural Complexes of Encounters

2019 ◽  
Vol 49 (2) ◽  
pp. 103-121
Author(s):  
Michael P. Berman ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Common Ground ◽  
Phenomenological Approach ◽  
Martin Buber ◽  
Moral Understanding ◽  
Seminal Work ◽  
I And Thou ◽  
General Ontology

The totalizing and absolutizing tendencies of metaphysics can undermine our essential ethical relationality. Is there a metaphysics that is robust enough and conducive to preserving this intuition? In answer, this paper will draw upon Martin Buber and Justus Buchler. Buber’s seminal work, I and Thou (1923), explores the nature of the ethical encounter. Buchler’s Metaphysics of Natural Complexes (1966) develops a general ontology, which can be described as an ordinal metaphysics. Encounters are thoroughly relational for Buber. Buchler’s metaphysics is also thoroughly relational. A phenomenological approach to relationality establishes the medium for this dialogue and provides a common ground for these texts. Not only is there a way to account for Buber’s encounter, but there is also an inherent moral understanding in Buchler’s metaphysics that preserves and is conducive to ethical relationality. Buchler’s metaphysics avoids the totalizing and absolutizing tendencies derided by Buber, while simultaneously promotes a version of the encounter.

The Pagan Dogma of the Absolute Unchangeableness of God

1978 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 305-313 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rem B. Edwards
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Soren Kierkegaard ◽  
External World ◽  
Process Theology ◽  
First Century ◽  
The Absolute

In his Edifying Discourses, Soren Kierkegaard published a sermon entitled ‘The Unchangeableness of God’ in which he reiterated the dogma which dominated Catholic, Protestant and even Jewish expressions of classical supernaturalist theology from the first century A.D. until the advent of process theology in the twentieth century. The dogma that as a perfect being, God must be totally unchanging in every conceivable respect was expressed by Kierkegaard in such ways as:He changes all, Himself unchanged. When everything seems stable (for it is only in appearance that the external world is for a time unchanged, in reality it is always in flux) and in the overturn of all things, He remains equally unchanged; no change touches Him, not even the shadow of a change; in unaltered clearness He, the father of lights, remained eternally unchanged.1

scholarly journals Makna Ungkapan “Petiklah Kecapi Baik-Baik” Dalam Mazmur 33: 3 Sebagai Upaya Peningkatan Kualitas Pelayanan Musik

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-25
Author(s):  
Sri Wahyuni Kusradi
Keyword(s):  
Musical Instruments ◽  
Human Being ◽  
Word Of God ◽  
The People ◽  
God's Love ◽  
History Of ◽  
Music Ministry ◽  
The One ◽  
The Right

Pelayanan musik adalah sangat penting dalam ibadah. Karena itu Kitab Mazmur juga menyatakan hal-hal mengenai pelayanan tersebut. “petiklah kecapi baik-baik” memberikan pengertian bahwa pelayanan musik bukanlah semata-mata menyangkut kemampuan memainkan alat musik saja. Tetapi lebih jauh dari hal itu adalah menyangkut kedalaman batin pemusik dalam penyembahannya kepada Tuhan yang menyangkut keseluruhan kehidupan sang pelayan tersebut.              Ia adalah orang yang benar di dalam Tuhan: ia adalah seorang yang memiliki hati yang telah dibaharui oleh Tuhan, dia adalah seorang yang dosanya telah diampuni, telah diselesaikan di hadapan Tuhan. Dia adalah seorang yang jujur artinya dia adalah seorang yang berintegritas dan tidakada kemunafikan. Seorang pelayan musik yang benar adalah yang memiliki sikap yang benar yang jiwanya penuh sukacita dalam memuji Tuhan, yang hatinya penuh dengan pujian kepada Allah. Dia juga dapat memainkan alat-alat musik dengan benar: ia memahami musik dengan benar dan memahami bagaimana bermusik yang dikenan Tuhan. Seorang pelayan musik juga memiliki kesungguhan hati dan perlu mempersiapkan dengan matang melalui latihan-latihan sebelum memulai pelayanannya. Seorang pelayan musik juga adalah seorang yang tiap waktu mengharapkan kasih setia Tuhan, sehingga ia tidak mengandalkan dirinya sendiri, yang hatinya penuh pengagungan dan kekaguman kepada Tuhan. Ia hendaknya mengetahui alasan kenapa ia bermain musik dan melayani musik dengan baik-baik. Ia mengerti alasannya yaitu karena Firman Tuhan telah menjadikan segala sesuatu, bahwa Tuhan yang ia layani adalah yang memiliki rancangan ygng menentukan sejaah umat-Nya, yang perhatian-Nya kepada manusia seluruhnya, dan Ia adalah Tuhan yang menyelamatkan orang yang takut akan Dia. Pemahaman akan hal-hal tersebut akan sangat berpengaruh pada seluruh ibadah dan kemajuan penyembahan umat kepada Allah dan kehidupan umat yang mempermuliakan Allah, Sang Juruselamat. Music ministry is very important in worship. Therefore the Psalms also state matters regarding the ministry. "Pick the harp well" gives the sense that the service of music is not solely concerned with the ability to play an instrument. But further than that it concerns the inner depth of the musician in his worship of God concerning the whole life of the servant. He is a righteous person in God: he is a person who has a heart that has been renewed by God, he is a person whose sins have been forgiven, resolved before God. He is an honest person meaning he is a person of integrity and no hypocrisy. A true music steward is one who has the right attitude whose soul is full of joy in praising God, whose heart is full of praise to God. He can also play musical instruments correctly: he understands music correctly and understands how music is pleasing to God. A music steward also has sincerity and needs to prepare carefully through exercises before starting his ministry. A music steward is also someone who is always expecting God's love, so he does not rely on himself, whose heart is full of admiration and admiration for God. He should know the reasons why he plays music and serves music well. He understands the reason that is because the Word of God has made everything, that the Lord he serves is the one who has a design that determines the history of His people, whose attention is to the whole human being, and He is the God who saves those who fear Him. Understanding these things will greatly affect the entire worship and progress of the worship of the people to God and the lives of people who glorify God, the Savior.

scholarly journals Martin buber: uma alternativa para se pensar as inter-relações no cotidiano escolar

2007 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 12-21
Author(s):  
Márcia R. M.Ferraz Arruda ◽  
Denis Domeneghetti Badia
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Culture ◽  
Everyday Life ◽  
Daily Life ◽  
Martin Buber ◽  
Crucial Issue ◽  
Theoretical Support ◽  
School Teaching ◽  
I And Thou ◽  
The Everyday ◽  
Teaching Learning

Nesta comunicação procuramos mostrar a propriedade das idéias de Martin Buber, na obra Eu e Tu (2001), para se pensar as inter-relações na escola. Em termos antropológicos, no cotidiano escolar se configuram, simultaneamente, cultura organizacional e a cultura de grupos, segundo Edgar Morin (1984) e Michel Maffesoli (1998). Buscamos na “filosofia do encontro” uma reflexão sobre as relações inter-subjetivas produzidas pelos sujeitos no cotidiano escolar. São relações que efetivam a comunicação, definida por Buber como um encontro, no qual se dá a complementaridade e reciprocidade das ações entre o Eu-Tu, o dialógico, em detrimento à experiência de contato proporcionada no Eu-Isso, o monológico. A questão a ser iluminada diz respeito ao fato de que, por meio da “filosofia do encontro”, talvez possamos encontrar suportes teóricos consistentes para repensarmos as relações produzidas pelos sujeitos no âmbito escolar, o que evidencia o caráter “ontológico” de uma questão crucial na escola: ensino-aprendizagem. Abstract: This paper will attempt to point out relevance of the ideas of Martin Buber, in the work “I and Thou” (2001), to think the interrelations in school. In anthropological terms, in the school daily life both organizational culture and the culture of groups are established, according Edgar Morin (1984) and Michel Maffesoli (1998). We searched on the “Philosophy of the Meeting" a reflection on the inter-subjective relations produced by the subjects in the everyday life school. They are relations that implement the communication, defined by Buber as an encounter, which gave the complementarity and reciprocity of actions between the “I-Thou”, the dialogical, to the detriment of the experience of contact provided in the “I-That”, the monological. The issue to be enlightened relates to the fact that, through the "philosophy of the meeting," perhaps we can find consistent theoretical support in order to rethink relations produced by subjects within the school, which shows the "ontological" character of a crucial issue in school: teaching-learning.

Selfless Passion: Kierkegaard on True Love

2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ingolf U. Dalferth
Keyword(s):  
Human Life ◽  
Middle Term ◽  
Normative Approach ◽  
True Love ◽  
Works Of Love ◽  
Mode Of Life ◽  
Descriptive Approach ◽  
Relationship Of

AbstractIn the Works of Love Kierkegaard answers the question what love is not by distinguishing types of love or by outlining cases or instances of how love occurs in human life (a descriptive approach) but by exploring what must be true for love to be at all (normative approach). Thus, he offers not a descriptive or conceptual but rather a hermeneutical and orienting account of love. Love as an orienting ought is sheer activity, always present, and therefore a mode of life rather than one particular activity among others. Living in this mode means loving others as a selfless self-but this can only be done when we are enabled to see ourselves and our neighbors not only as selves and other selves but as we are seen by God: as God’s neighbors. The upshot of Kierkegaard’s hermeneutical account of love is that love cannot be fully understood as a (reciprocal or onesided) I-you-relationship. Rather, such a relationship is a relationship of love only if and insofar as love-and therefore God-as the middle term enables two selves to fully relate in a you-you-relationship, a relation of true love.

Martin Buber's ‘I and Thou’

Philosophy ◽  
1945 ◽  
Vol 20 (75) ◽  
pp. 17-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helen Wodehouse
Keyword(s):  
Human Life ◽  
Martin Buber ◽  
General Theme ◽  
Personal Relation ◽  
I And Thou ◽  
The World ◽  
The Subject

Reading and re-reading the difficult and important small book I and Thou, by Professor Martin Buber, which Mr. Ronald Gregor Smith has translated with so much care and skill, and trying to make it clearer to myself in words of my own, I find myself at odds on the threshold with the translator's Introduction. He is explaining the title and the general theme of the book:—“There is, Buber shows, a radical difference between a man's attitude to other men and his attitude to things. The attitude to other men is a relation between persons, to things it is a connexion with objects. In the personal relation one subject—I—confronts another subject—Thou; in the connexion with things the subject contemplates and experiences an object. These two attitudes represent the basic twofold situation of human life, the former constituting the ‘world of Thou,’ and the latter the ‘world of It’” (p. vi).

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