Dynamic Communication: an Analytic and Constructive Study on the Problem of Religious Communication, based on Martin Buber's Philosophy of Dialogue
(1998)- Abstract
- In the present work, I study various aspects of Martin Buber's model of how a human being can communicate, in a meaningful way, his or her religious experiences to and with another human being. My method has aspects of both conceptual analysis and phenomenologial description. I focus on the individual partners, their mutual relationships and the religious message. Buber's model is based on the conceptual opposition between 'I-Thou' and 'I-It'. The I-Thou-attitude is characterized as an immediate recognition, which engages the whole of man. The I-It-attitude is characterized as an attitude which is mediated, directed to particulars and which can never engage the whole of man. According to Buber, the i n d i vi d u a l becomes a real I, a p... (More)
- In the present work, I study various aspects of Martin Buber's model of how a human being can communicate, in a meaningful way, his or her religious experiences to and with another human being. My method has aspects of both conceptual analysis and phenomenologial description. I focus on the individual partners, their mutual relationships and the religious message. Buber's model is based on the conceptual opposition between 'I-Thou' and 'I-It'. The I-Thou-attitude is characterized as an immediate recognition, which engages the whole of man. The I-It-attitude is characterized as an attitude which is mediated, directed to particulars and which can never engage the whole of man. According to Buber, the i n d i vi d u a l becomes a real I, a p e r s o n, only by way of an I-Thou-relationship, of reciprocity. He describes the phenomenon of what I call "dynamic dialogue" which is analyzed with respect to various conceptual elements, viz., as 'genuine', 'powerful', 'emotional', 'intellecual' and 'actdirected'. With regard to attaining mutual intellectual understanding both on an intuitive and on a discursive level, Buber discerns three different "methods": 1. embracing and identifying with; 2. accepting the other as a subject and not only as an object; 3. allowing one's own horizon to be challenged by the other's horizon into a fusion of horizons within the oscillation between I-Thou and I-It, which implies a development of a new understanding of the other and of what is communicated. I have found Buber's statements to be rooted in "ordinary language". Relative to this everyday frame of reference, the "transcending" dimension of religous language is understood on the basis of a human way of living and on the basis of human thoughts and emotions. Buber's verbal message about God is that God is really there as our eternal Thou. Religious understanding is inter-personal and is expressed verbally and in action in inter-personal categories. This implies a way of speaking meaningfully about God, irrespectively of whether God exists or really possesses the attributes ascribed to him. Buber's view offers a common basis both for belief in God and atheism. This position presupposes a theory of religious pluralism. The main point of this theory, which is based on Buber's point of view, is that all personal relationships with God have their essential "core" in common when confessional interpretations are "bracketed". Buber presents religious life as fundamentally constituted by the attitude of love. The theory is o n e way of understanding the phenomenon that different people adhere to different religions. It entails a criticism of the e x c l u s i v e claims of different religions, and an understanding based on common features. It is also a criticism of what may be called the i n c l u s i v e claim that different religions are reflections of a certain primary religion. The structure of the theory is a n t h r o p o c e n t r i c (the staring-point is man's experiences, wants and behaviour), e g a l i s t i c (it regards all religions as equivalent in value) and e s s e n t i a l i s t i c (it assumes a common phenomenological core of all religious experiences and behaviour). (Less)
- Abstract (Swedish)
- Popular Abstract in Swedish
I avhandlingen "Dynamisk dialog: en analytisk och konstruktiv studie av den religiösa kommunikationens problem på grundval av Martin Bubers dialogfilosofi" studerar jag olika aspekter av Bubers modell för hur en människa meningsfullt kan kommunicera sin religiösa upplevelse till och med en annan människa. Min metod har både en begreppsanalytisk och en fenomenologisk sida. Jag inriktar mig på de enskilda parterna, deras relationer inbördes och det religiösa budskapet. Bubers modell grundas på den begreppsliga kontrasten mellan 'Jag-Du' och 'Jag-Det'. Jag-Du-attityden karaktäriseras som en omedelbar bejakelse, som engagerar hela människan och är inriktad på helhet. Jag-Det karaktäriseras av ett... (More) - Popular Abstract in Swedish
I avhandlingen "Dynamisk dialog: en analytisk och konstruktiv studie av den religiösa kommunikationens problem på grundval av Martin Bubers dialogfilosofi" studerar jag olika aspekter av Bubers modell för hur en människa meningsfullt kan kommunicera sin religiösa upplevelse till och med en annan människa. Min metod har både en begreppsanalytisk och en fenomenologisk sida. Jag inriktar mig på de enskilda parterna, deras relationer inbördes och det religiösa budskapet. Bubers modell grundas på den begreppsliga kontrasten mellan 'Jag-Du' och 'Jag-Det'. Jag-Du-attityden karaktäriseras som en omedelbar bejakelse, som engagerar hela människan och är inriktad på helhet. Jag-Det karaktäriseras av ett förmedlat och delinriktat användande, som aldrig kan engagera hela människan. Enligt Buber blir i n d i v i d e n ett verkligt Jag, en p e r s o n, först i dialogförhållandet. Han beskriver det fenomen som jag kallar "dynamisk dialog", som analyseras utifrån en strukturering i begreppen 'äkta', 'kraftfull', 'känslomässig', 'intellektuell' och 'handlingsinriktad'. När det gäller att uppnå en ömsesidig intellektuell förståelse på både ett intuitivt och ett diskursivt plan kan hos Buber urskiljas tre olika "metoder" som samverkar: 1. att leva sig in i och omfatta; 2. att låta den andre inte bara vara objekt utan även subjekt och 3. att i pendlandet mellan Jag-Du och Jag-Det låta ens egen horisont utmanas av den andres horisont till en horisontsammansmätning, vilket innebär att en utveckling sker till en förnyad förståelse av den andre och det som förmedlas. Jag har funnit att Bubers utsagor är grundade på "vardagsspråket". Den i förhållande till denna referensram "gränsöverskridande" dimensionen i det religiösa språket förstås utifrån mänskligt sätt att leva och utifrån mänskliga tankar och känslor. Bubers verbala budskap om Gud är, att Gud verkligen är där som vårt eviga Du. Religiös förståelse är mellan-mänsklig och gestaltas verbalt och handlingsmässigt i mellan-mänskliga kategorier. Detta innebär ett sätt att tala meningsfullt om Gud, oavsett om Gud existerar eller verkligen besitter de tillskrivna egenskaperna. Bubers syn ger en gemensam plattform för både gudstro och ateism. Denna ståndpunkt förutsätter en teori om religiös pluralism. Huvudpunkten i denna teori, som grundas på en bubersk grundsyn, är att alla personliga gudsförhållanden har den essentiella "kärnan" gemensam, när konfessionella tolkningar är "satta inom parentes". Kärnan framställs av Buber i termer av kärlek. Teorin innebär e t t sätt att förstå fenomenet att människor i olika kulturer är anhängare av olika religioner. Den innebär en kritik av olika religioners e x k l u s i v a anspråk, och en förståelse utifrån gemensamma anknytningspunkter. Den innebär också en kritik av vad man kunde kalla i n k l u s i v a anspråk på att olika religioner skulle vara reflektioner av en viss främsta religion. Till teorins struktur hör, att den är a n t r o p o c e n t r i s k (tar sin utgångspunkt i människans upplevelser, behov och beteenden), e g a l i s t i s k (betraktar alla religioner som likvärdiga) och e s s e n t i e l l (antar en fenomenologiskt sett gemensam kärna i religiösa upplevelser och beteenden). (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/18917
- author
- Runquist, Christina LU
- supervisor
- opponent
-
- Barbosa da Silva, António
- organization
- publishing date
- 1998
- type
- Thesis
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Love, Phenomenology, Martin Buber, Religion, Meaning, Dialogue, Ordinary Language, Theology, Teologi
- pages
- 288 pages
- publisher
- Norma
- defense location
- Institutionen för konst- och musikvetenskap, hörsal 314
- defense date
- 1998-09-25 10:15:00
- external identifiers
-
- other:ISRN: LURED/RERF-1998/1007-SE
- ISBN
- 91 7217 009-3
- language
- Swedish
- LU publication?
- yes
- additional info
- The information about affiliations in this record was updated in December 2015. The record was previously connected to the following departments: Church History (015017061)
- id
- 1204f1ab-816e-4741-bae1-7f2308d7ae0b (old id 18917)
- date added to LUP
- 2016-04-04 10:22:04
- date last changed
- 2021-11-15 09:25:17
@phdthesis{1204f1ab-816e-4741-bae1-7f2308d7ae0b,
abstract = {{In the present work, I study various aspects of Martin Buber's model of how a human being can communicate, in a meaningful way, his or her religious experiences to and with another human being. My method has aspects of both conceptual analysis and phenomenologial description. I focus on the individual partners, their mutual relationships and the religious message. Buber's model is based on the conceptual opposition between 'I-Thou' and 'I-It'. The I-Thou-attitude is characterized as an immediate recognition, which engages the whole of man. The I-It-attitude is characterized as an attitude which is mediated, directed to particulars and which can never engage the whole of man. According to Buber, the i n d i vi d u a l becomes a real I, a p e r s o n, only by way of an I-Thou-relationship, of reciprocity. He describes the phenomenon of what I call "dynamic dialogue" which is analyzed with respect to various conceptual elements, viz., as 'genuine', 'powerful', 'emotional', 'intellecual' and 'actdirected'. With regard to attaining mutual intellectual understanding both on an intuitive and on a discursive level, Buber discerns three different "methods": 1. embracing and identifying with; 2. accepting the other as a subject and not only as an object; 3. allowing one's own horizon to be challenged by the other's horizon into a fusion of horizons within the oscillation between I-Thou and I-It, which implies a development of a new understanding of the other and of what is communicated. I have found Buber's statements to be rooted in "ordinary language". Relative to this everyday frame of reference, the "transcending" dimension of religous language is understood on the basis of a human way of living and on the basis of human thoughts and emotions. Buber's verbal message about God is that God is really there as our eternal Thou. Religious understanding is inter-personal and is expressed verbally and in action in inter-personal categories. This implies a way of speaking meaningfully about God, irrespectively of whether God exists or really possesses the attributes ascribed to him. Buber's view offers a common basis both for belief in God and atheism. This position presupposes a theory of religious pluralism. The main point of this theory, which is based on Buber's point of view, is that all personal relationships with God have their essential "core" in common when confessional interpretations are "bracketed". Buber presents religious life as fundamentally constituted by the attitude of love. The theory is o n e way of understanding the phenomenon that different people adhere to different religions. It entails a criticism of the e x c l u s i v e claims of different religions, and an understanding based on common features. It is also a criticism of what may be called the i n c l u s i v e claim that different religions are reflections of a certain primary religion. The structure of the theory is a n t h r o p o c e n t r i c (the staring-point is man's experiences, wants and behaviour), e g a l i s t i c (it regards all religions as equivalent in value) and e s s e n t i a l i s t i c (it assumes a common phenomenological core of all religious experiences and behaviour).}},
author = {{Runquist, Christina}},
isbn = {{91 7217 009-3}},
keywords = {{Love; Phenomenology; Martin Buber; Religion; Meaning; Dialogue; Ordinary Language; Theology; Teologi}},
language = {{swe}},
publisher = {{Norma}},
school = {{Lund University}},
title = {{Dynamic Communication: an Analytic and Constructive Study on the Problem of Religious Communication, based on Martin Buber's Philosophy of Dialogue}},
year = {{1998}},
}