I and Thou, Martin Buber Translated by Walter Kaufmann
I and Thou, Martin Buber Translated by Walter Kaufmann
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I and Thou

Author: Martin Buber; Translated by Walter Kaufmann

Narrator: John Lescault

Unabridged: 5 hr 18 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 10/05/2011

Synopsis

Martin Bubers I and Thou has long been acclaimed as a classic. Many prominent writers have acknowledged its influence on their work; students of intellectual history consider it a landmark; and the generation born after World War II considers Buber one of its prophets. Bubers main proposition is that we may address existence in two ways: (1) that of the I toward an It, toward an object that is separate in itself, which we either use or experience; (2) that of the I toward Thou, in which we move into existence in a relationship without bounds. One of the major themes of the book is that human life finds its meaningfulness in relationships. All of our relationships, Buber contends, bring us ultimately into relationship with God, who is the Eternal Thou. The need for a new English translation had been felt for many years. The old version was marred by many inaccuracies and misunderstandings, and its recurrent use of the archaic thou was seriously misleading. Professor Walter Kaufmann, a distinguished writer and philosopher in his own right who was close to Buber, retranslated the work at the request of Bubers family. He added a wealth of informative footnotes to clarify obscurities and bring the reader closer to the original and wrote an extensive prologue that opened up new perspectives on the book and on Bubers thought. This volume provided a new basis for all subsequent discussions of Buber.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Bill on August 07, 2019

I hesitate to write about this book, for, although it has influenced how I think about—and relate to--people, animals, the environment, works of art, prayer, God, you name it, there is much in it that I do not comprehend, and a few things that baffle me completely. What I am sure about is that—before......more

Goodreads review by David on December 17, 2008

As Walter Kaufmann says in his introduction, Buber's "I and Thou" stands somewhere between the literary and philosophical traditions. This makes the book very hard to summarize and its impact difficult to convey. Suffice it to say, this is 100 pages of honest, resonant writing from a man who believe......more

Goodreads review by Jesse on February 26, 2016

I distinctly remember how all of us dutiful grad students collectively scratched our heads when we realized this would be our primary text for a seminar on documentary films taught by Bill Nichols—we were in grad school to read Deleuze and Foucault and Silverman and "sophisticated" contemporary theo......more

Goodreads review by Shal on January 18, 2011

This is my absolute favourite book of all time and no matter how many times I read it - I get something else out of it :) According to Buber, human beings may adopt two attitudes toward the world: I-Thou or I-It. I-Thou is a relation of subject-to-subject, while I-It is a relation of subject-to-obje......more

Goodreads review by Rebekah on October 21, 2007

I was assigned this book in college and kept it, because it struck me as so true at the time. The premise is that there can be no self without an other. You can only come into being through your relationships with others. At the time, I was kind of sick and pretty delusional and thought I was very i......more

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