4

Yes, but that's not what I mean. Feuerbach stated that concrete consciousness doesn't exist without species consciousness." The connection between "I" and "You" becomes particularly important when it is a relationship between a man and a woman. A general human need is to possess another human being. There is nothing surprising in this, because it is a fundamental need of gender. A man finds the purpose of his life in the woman he loves, just as a woman finds the purpose of his life in the man. For the author of this idea, it was "practical atheism." Love is suffering, and only this is a sign of existential truth. Every kind of love, as the Greeks defined it – Amor, Caritas, and Eros – metaphysical love "I love because...", ontological love "I love despite the fact that...", and physical love, are real, true, ontological proof of our existence. Man and woman can be used as synthetic concepts that, ia posteriori and a priori, are derived from another being.

(Source of the idea: Principles of the philosophy of the future andFeuerbach's Uber Spiritualismus und Materialismus )

If, Philip, you have ever suffered like Wolf because of love, you can say – I exist. Have you ever suffered?

- ...

- I understand. You exist. Let us now summarize Feuerbach's philosophy. He believed that the specific feature of the human being is its relationship to the "other." Human existence is a search for unity between one person and another. This all boils down to the fact that in this way, according to him, the meaning of the concept of "You" belongs to the concept of "I." The real world belongs to the real essence of man. The world reveals itself in its truth only to the concepts of "I" and "You" – their concrete coexistence. "You" is the objective, objective "I." The "Other" is the open interior of every "I." The first, fundamental object of man is another person, who has the possibility of becoming an object, but also of becoming an individual. This boils down to the fact that caring for the well-being of the "I" is also caring for the well-being of "others." Morality cannot arise, be derived from a single "I" or pure reason. It can only be explained and come into being in the union of "I" and "Thou." So much for Feuerbach; now we'll move on to Buber.

"Oh, can something else be invented?

" "Wrong, not invented. Observed and deduced." My aunt winked at Philip.

"Sure.

" Martin Buber believed that our lives are one great mystery, all the time. We will never know what end we are heading towards. Our whole lives will surprise us; we will be unable to prepare for events. The only thing that is concrete is the concept of "speech." Reality is meant to speak to us. It is meant to engage us. This speech cannot be written down in any alphabet, because it has no sound, it cannot be fully understood. Speaking itself is adopting the "I-Thou" attitude—this is what is called a question, but discussing it is already adopting the "I-It" attitude. And this is where the whole interesting philosophy begins. The "I-Thou" and "I-It" relationships are not static. They constantly interpenetrate, transforming one into the other. "It" is a certain subjectivity of the "I." It encompasses the acting subject and the world it has invented. The "I-It" relationship is the perception of the world around oneself. "It" is an abstraction, it does not have full value. When the "I" observes the world of "It," it finds itself in a world of projection—abstraction. It finds itself in the world of "It." The "I" in the form of "I-It" does not possess a full philosophical essence.

(Read: Dialogische Prinzip ; hereinafter referred to as DP Martin Buber)

By "paradistance," meaning certain processes of human self-awareness in concrete encounters with the world of "It," Buber understood the moment when the principle of "being human" is realized. It is the process of distancing the "I" from the environment. "Paradistance" is an abstract process of research on an anthropological level. Abstraction is the process of building one's own world, one in which we want to be. In this transformation from paradistance to contact with the world, the entire essence of being human is fulfilled. For where there is no room for contact, relationship, or any kind of attitude, distancing occurs automatically. Beings placed opposite each other become, as it were, objects. The world is singularistic, while the world of dialogics is pluralistic. The world of "It" depends on time and space, while the world of "You" does not. The "You-world" differs from the "It-world" in that the former is an order in itself, the latter a subordination. The present "You" is reality, the present "It" is the past.

(Returning to my role: "The world-It is dependent on space and time. The world-You is not dependent on space and time" M. Buber, DP i Ich und Du)

Meanwhile, Scheherazade the cat stretched and jumped down from the fireplace. Sitting on the floor for a moment, she watched the figures in the armchairs. She licked her paw and washed behind her ear. She heard something scratching under the bookshelves. Curious, she approached. She stuck both paws under the furniture and tried to pull something out. Filip noticed this. He interrupted his aunt by remarking that the cat was up to something. Curious, he approached. Kneeling, he helped Scheherazade remove the strange "something." It was a red-eared slider, which his aunt had delicately named Sinbad. With it, a mysterious, dusty note slid out from under the furniture. Filip took it to his aunt. He didn't notice that the cat was trying to toss the turtle. His aunt had to react. She put Sinbad in the aquarium with Heraclitus and shook her finger at the cat.

"Auntie, what's this text?" he handed the paper to his aunt.

"Hmm... Great! That's exactly what Buber meant. Sit down, I'll read it to you..."

***

A Life's Journey

Well, my bus finally arrived. It's nice that it's articulated. People, do you have to push so hard? Why is this woman rushing around, there's plenty of room! Oh, I'll just stand here. I don't feel like sitting down. Now let's go back to the house, eat something, and lie down. Oh, that chick sitting there! She's so cute! She doesn't look like a techno chick. I wonder how we'd pick her up. Oh, if only this bus could be transported to some deserted island! Preferably to some warm ocean. I wonder how everyone would react if they suddenly found themselves there. Those women in the front would probably panic and start praying to God, hehe. And you, bald guy, what are you looking at? You think you can get away with anything in a tracksuit, you little bunch? This one would probably throw a fit. He'd get hit once, then twice, and then calm down. So cool after a roundhouse kick! I suspect a leader would have to emerge eventually. Everyone would want to rule the world and prove they were different, better. Women would keep quiet because that's a male's job. I'd run away to an island somewhere, settle down, and then come back for that girl. I wonder how she'd react...

But the guy's looking at me. He's quite handsome. I wonder if he has a girlfriend? He doesn't dress badly. I wonder if he's at the cash register? It's nice when a guy like that picks you up in a Merc with a bouquet of roses. Then you can go out for dinner at a restaurant, or somewhere by the lake in a gazebo, by candlelight and moonlight, eat and drink wine from crystal glasses. Then we'd go and sit on the dock and stare off into the distance. The stars would reflect off the gently rippling water. We'd cuddle and listen to each other's breathing. Then he'd kiss me and tell me he loves me. He'd give me a diamond ring. We'd start a family. We'd live in a beautiful house with a garden and have children...

What a nice little car! Oh, and there's a man with a dog! He's a cute little dog! I wonder if Mommy will buy me one. She said yes! I'll have a dog! We'll play together! I'll kiss him a stick, and he'll run around! I'll name him Rin Tin Tin, just like in the fairy tale! I'll build him a kennel and live there with him! We'll play together, yes! And I'll cuddle him, and he'll lick me with his tongue! And when the snow falls, just like in the fairy tale, he'll pull me in his sled! When I grow up, Rin Tin Tin and I will hunt for treasure! He'll nibble with his nose, and I'll dig with a shovel...

Oh... he said he wanted a dog. When I was his age, I wanted one too. It's a shame we can't have one. He eats as much meat in a day as we do in a week! You'd have to hit the lottery. Then, my son, I'd buy you ten of them! We could try. I wonder what you'll become in the future. Maybe you'll be an inventor? Or an actor. You'll definitely be someone. You'll do well in school. Then you'll go to university! I'd love for you to be an orthodontist. A friend told me he earns fifty złoty a visit! You'd have a beautiful house, a smart wife, and lots of children. I wonder what will become of me when you finally achieve that...

What a handsome boy sits there. His mother must raise him well. He doesn't cry. Oh, he's so pretty. He reminds me of my grandson. The same eyes, only his face is a bit different. I wonder how Jola takes care of him. I'll have to visit them. Their second child is due soon. I wonder if it's a boy or a girl. It would be good if it was a girl, because there are already a lot of boys in our family. Krysia has a son, Agnieszka has a son, no one has a daughter! Tadek is getting married soon. He found a good wife! There aren't many women like that these days! I wonder if they'll have a daughter. They have to find an apartment; they won't be living in his studio apartment, after all! Tadzik is a helpful boy. He'll earn them a house. He said he'd already saved up a lot of money. I think he mentioned something about already having an apartment in mind. You have to get off at my stop…

And the bus stopped at the bus stop. People got off and returned to reality…

***

"This may be a slightly stereotypical story, but you have to admit that the author presents the process of 'distancing' and, at the same time, a kind of dialogue very well, right?" continued my aunt.

(Did you like my story?)

True… And see, aunt, it's still relevant! Is that the current significance of the philosophy of dialogue?"

"Among other things, too. But the philosophy of dialogue, as I said, is a very broad concept. Listen further. Buber, still, dealt with "being." He studied the works of Heidegger and concluded that "being" has any meaning only in connection with what is. We can use this word only when we want to designate some incomprehensible reality. "Being" is not a phenomenon in itself. It cannot be interpreted as something independent. Everything that surrounds man is experiential. However, experience is not univocal. It is a subjective attitude of subjective knowledge and is not a direct connection with reality. It is within him, not outside of him. The world does not contribute to experience, but is experienceable. He called this experience "I-It." "I-Thou" is the source of relationships. The "I," which lies between man and reality, is an act of contemplation. Man knows the world through contemplation. Experience is only one, the passive side of the human attitude; the other is experience.

( Der Mensch und sein Gebild Buber )

The specific phenomenon Buber described is the "in-between." It is a relationship of beings. It is only possible when I enter into a relationship with some "other." "In-between" is something that for the "I" means "You." Being opposite, what exists between people, is a dialogue. In my opinion, this entire story is "in-between," which is "between" you and a specific "You." And in this story, the "in-between" is the mutual perception of the boy and the girl. This is the "I-Thou" relationship. The "I-It" relationship, for example, is the moment when the grandmother notices the boy. This is her subjective cognition of reality. The "I-It" relationship.

("The zone of the interpersonal is the zone of mutual being opposite, and we call its development dialogue" Buber, Werke ).

Dialogue means allowing the Other to participate in the being of the "I." Buber distinguished three areas in which dialogue occurs:

1. The so-called "technical" dialogue, where modern man retains his personality and is in a dialogic relationship with what he produces. This phenomenon can be observed at work. When you produce something typically objectified, there is no friendly dialogue with your workmates.

2. The so-called "true" dialogue, in which we become observers. We avoid the chance of dialogue. Only human attitudes based on feelings, such as love, friendship, or the relationship between master and disciple, lead to it. Following this line of thought, we arrive at the point where we can conclude that love cannot exist without dialogics. Buber rejected the understanding of dialogue as a specific form of communication.

"Further proof that the Wolf truly loved Little Red Riding Hood..."

"Yes. Listen further. Buber also distinguished something called "silent communication." It is, in my opinion, the most interesting creation of communication. The most romantic... When people, preserving their own thoughts, their solitude, sit next to each other. Then the phenomenon of "mutual silence" can occur, a kind of mysticism. He drew this idea from Hasidism. I will talk about this later, in a little more detail. Returning to mutual silence, in this case the dialogue transforms into a philosophy of encounter.

"I experienced such mysticism once... You're right, it's extraordinary!

" "When?" His aunt became curious.

"When did that terrible accident happen... When those high school students died on the bus..." The boy looked at his aunt. Her gaze begged for him to continue. "We were supposed to observe a minute of silence at exactly noon..."

***

Filip and his friends met in the classroom. It was two minutes to midnight. Everyone was there. He looked at the gathered people. Everyone was facing the blackboard, only he had his back to it. Some were laughing, joking, and there was no sign of suffering. After all, none of their friends had died; there was no point in wasting their lives. He was lucky too; he hadn't lost anyone. One minute to twelve. The teacher wasn't in the classroom yet. She was supposed to start and end that "minute." Filip couldn't take it anymore.

"Listen, I know life is too short and brutal to take seriously, but please, let's respect the memory of those whose lives were too short."

The class "calmed down." Everyone fell silent. Those who had huddled together couldn't wipe the smiles from their faces, but they remained silent. Filip looked at the individuals standing alone on the outskirts. Someone was looking out the window, someone else was observing the group, and someone else was contemplating a spot in front of their shoes. Those in the group began to nudge each other. They were no longer standing still; they were hopping from foot to foot. Some of the "lonely" individuals were amused by the situation. Filip, not lying to himself, wanted to laugh too, but managed to keep a straight face. Something extraordinary happened. Everyone, without exception, and he doesn't know how, looked at him. The group immediately calmed down. They read in his posture: "This is a tragedy, someone close to us COULD have died there! I'M BEGGING YOU!" One last glance at his "clique" and—silence. Silence. Now everyone's fingers are peacefully intertwined. Everyone's eyes are tying their shoelaces, but their thoughts are contemplating their lives, their fleeting nature. It's two past twelve. Only Filip notices the teacher entering through the door at the back of the classroom. Only he is facing her. The initial confusion on her face has transformed into seriousness. It's five past twelve. No one can break the bond that unites everyone in the class. Filip didn't notice the embarrassment. He knew it was high time to snap out of his trance and return to life, to the lesson. He couldn't! No student could do it! It's six past twelve.

"I'm glad you've shown the maturity to organize yourselves. I'm proud of you for being so supportive of your classmates from another school.

" "Black butterflies" flitted before Filip's eyes. He fluttered his eyelashes energetically.

The next lesson was a quiz…