PHILO

• Intersubjectivity


  The interchange of thoughts and feelings between two persons or "subjects" as facilitated by intentionality. It is the shared awareness and understanding among persons which is evident in social interactions, the ability of humans to agree and to be involved in the existence of the other.
• Existentialism and phenomenology are the major philosophical disciplines that stress the discussion on the concept of relationships. They correlate the concept of relationship to self-awareness and transcendence.
• Self


  The individual's awareness of their own individuality, exemplified by the pronoun "I"
• Other


  The individuals outside of the self, who are also subjects in the world, exemplified by the pronouns "Thou" or "You"
• The encounter of the "I" and the "You" is properly known in phenomenology as Intersubjectivity.
• Intentionality


  The shared awareness and understanding among persons which is evident in social interactions
• It is because of intersubjectivity that persons engage in relationships.
• 1. Thou relationship (dialogue)


  • Turning to the partner in all truth, recognizing the other as other, not approval but recognition
• 1. It relationship (monologue)


  • Objectifying the other, treating them as an object
• The first obstacle to dialogue is the way of seeming (level of impression) and it can be contrasted to the way of being, the duality of which is the essential problem of the interhuman.
• Way of being


  Proceeding not from an image, but from what one really is; spontaneous, without reserve, and natural
• The second obstacle to dialogue is speechifying (one's talking past another) and it is contrasted to the act of personal making present, i.e., persons make present the other as the one that he is (recognition).
• The third obstacle to dialogue is imposition (imposing one's self on others, telling them what to do, how he or she should act) as contrasted to unfolding, i.e., the finding in the other the disposition toward what I myself recognize as true, good, and beautiful.
• Transcendence (for Marcel)


  Living our lives worthy enough to be called human persons
• Subjectivity is Intersubjectivity (Esse est co-esse)

  The thing in the world is existence itself or being in itself, the ground on which all beings especially us and everything in the universe is anchored
• Authentic intersubjectivity


  Feeling our presence with each other, to be always there for others, and to be always willing to sacrifice so that others may live
• Intersubjectivity is a way of life lived in unconditional love for others. We are each other's keeper. We cannot do away with the obligation to help each other because we are ethical beings by virtue of our intersubjective relationship with one another.
• The world is broken because there is no more human touch in almost everything that we do now. We have been too technical about how we run the world.
• Marcel: '"We live today in a world at war with itself, and this state of world-war is being pushed so far that it runs the risk of ending in something that could properly be described as world-suicide."'
• Not knowing who we are makes our world broken. Strange reduction" of things - The more broken we become, the more confused we are about our true identity.
• Urgency for transcendence


  The longing, our longing, to be what we truly are; the longing to be true to our identity as human persons
• The most primitive existential experience of any person is that of the body and not the thinking self.
• Self as an 'embodied spirit'


  Our conscious life, our spiritual life, and our bodily life are equally important to our enjoyment of being or existence
• Being


  What makes everything possible in this world; existence; the giver of givens; God Himself
• Sensation


  Our ability to feel our bodies and the objects outside us; an activity of the body
• Presence


  The experience of presences is our primary experience of intersubjectivity; when somebody's presence really does make itself felt, it can refresh my inner being; it reveals me to myself, it makes me more fully myself
• Availability


  Reciprocal openness between individuals; the decision or choice to really be present and available to others
• Fidelity


  Being responsible for others; being there for those who need us the most
• Intersubjectivity means that if we see a hungry person we do not hesitate to come to his aid, to give him food if we have, and if in case we do not have what he needs, we look for ways and means to feed him. We only become who we truly are when we are with others; when we take care of the other.
• Intersubjectivity


  (the in between of persons)
• Intersubjectivity


  (Authentic Dialogue and Accepting Differences)
• Intersubjectivity


  1. Interchange of thoughts and feelings between two persons or subjects as facilitated by intentionality

  2. Requires at least 2 persons
• Intentionality


  • Notion that it expresses, deriving from the Latin "intentio" meaning "directed at"
  • Representation of reality in the mind
• Martin Buber's View on Human Persons

  • Human person is a whole, concrete, existential, and related to the world
  • We are capable of engaging relationship with any living beings (not limited to humans only)
  • Subject for Buber is living beings only
  • Man engages in life-long dialogue with other subjects
  • We are able to feel the emotion of others because we have spirit (body, soul, and spirit)
  • Since we are spiritual beings, we are capable of reciprocating the feeling the we receive from other subjects
• 2 Forms of Relationship by Martin Buber (Austrian Jewish Philosopher)

  • I-it Relationship
  • I-Thou Relationship
• 1. it Relationship


  • A person to thing, subject to object relationship
  • Objectifying subject to object
  • Reducing the value of subjects on the object
  • Value as a person is no difference to object
  • Subject manipulating the object, we don't recognize the other as subject
  • Operates in the past
  • There is detachment and separateness
  • World of sensation where there are objects
  • Persons do not experience an authentic encounter with each other
  • Self (I) treats the other as an object (it) to be experienced and used
  • All about oneself; a monologue not a dialogue
  • Alienation: when relationship is inauthentic, deceptive and exploitative; self ceases to view the other as a distinct or authentic persons and considers him/her as mere object as mean to satisfy its interests; can lead to the others loss of dignity and humanity
• 1. Thou Relationship


  • Person to person relationship
  • Sharing of self to the other; there is sincerity and acceptance
  • Interpersonal encounter or relation
  • Mutual sharing of selves, subjects reciprocate affection
  • Mutualism, reciprocity
  • Sincerity is shown in the moment, the now (present), entails with presence (physical) and availability (spiritual)
  • Genuine dialogue: sincerity, acceptance, presence, availability, mutualism
  • Requires will and power
  • God: Eternal Thou
  • Paradigm Shift: how we move our life in a way that we still encounter people the way we encounter ourselves
  • World of encounters, relationship with other persons
  • Genuine sharing of one another
  • I treats the other as distinctly other, another person who is different from itself
• Intersubjectivity


  • (compound of "inter" (between, among) and "subject" (a conscious being): Edmund Husserl)
  • Interchange of thoughts and feelings, both conscious and unconscious, between to subjects (persons) as facilitated by empathy
  • Shared understanding of persons
• Seeming


  (level of impression) approaching the other based on the image one wants to impress on him/her, by what one wants the other to be; taking roles or hiding aspects of oneself in order to appear more desirable to the other; acting differently before different people
• Dialogue


  Interaction between persons that happens through speech or the use of words, expressions, and body language, it occurs when two individuals view each other as an other; giving and receiving; opening up