Asceticism
A philosophy of renouncing worldly pleasures in pursuit of spiritual transcendence
Association
In contrast to differentiation, the mode of existence of I-You in which subjects participate or associate together
Differentiation
In contrast to association, the mode of existence of I-It in which subjects are separated, or differentiated, from each other
Ego
A thinking subject, used by Buber to denote the I that stands apart from the world, thinking about, rather than relating to, It
Epistemology
The philosophy of knowledge, or how we come to know things and call them true
Eternal You
Buber’s name for God, the You in which all relations with other "You"s converge
Existentialism
A philosophy arguing that human subjects create their own world through free will and action
Hegemony
The dominant beliefs or worldview of a society
Interpellation
The creation of subjects through addressing them from the state of power
Metaphysics
The philosophy of being, or the nature of reality and existence
Mutuality
Reciprocity between two things, as in the mutuality of the I-You relation
Noetic
Dealing with such invisible things as the workings of the mind or spirit
Objectivity
Used by Buber to mean treating a thing as an object, like something to be used as a tool, rather than a partner in a relation
Ontology
The philosophy of being, especially how subjects come into being in their world
Political Theology
Philosophies that use concepts from religion to explore political questions like the formation and management of communities and states
Pre-Natal
Prior to birth; Buber calls the fetus’ pre-natal relation with the womb a model of the I-You relation
Socratic
Relating to Socrates, especially his method of exploring truth through dialogue
Subject
The “I” in the I-It or I-You relation, or the human who is oriented to the world in a specific way according to whether the world is addressed as It or You
Thinghood
The nature of being reduced to an object rather than a subject, corresponding to the “It” in the I-It world
Threshold
The limit between something being possible or impossible. Buber talks about the “threshold of mutuality” with animals, who are almost, but not quite, capable of relations with humans in the same way humans relate with other humans. The limit of this threshold is language: humans have it, and animals do not.
