Martin Buber

Educating for Relationship

Bibliographic Data

ID12596383
AuthorsSean Blenkinsop (0000-0001-7503-0974, a Simon Fraser University , Burnaby, Canada, corresponding author)
Year2005
Volume8
Issue3
Pages285-307
Publication date2005-10-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueEthics Place & Environment (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1366-879X • E-ISSN: 1469-6703
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/13668790500348232
OpenAlexW2025572625
LanguageEN
Citations received12
References cited12

This paper proposes that contained within Martin Buber's works one can find useful support for, and insights into, an educational philosophy that stretches across, and incorporates, both the human and non-human worlds. Through a re-examination of his seminal essay EducationFootnote 2 , and with reference to specific incidents in his autobiography (e.g. the horse, his family, the theatre and the tree) and to central tenets of his theology (e.g. the shekina, the Eternal Thou and teshuvah) we shall present a more coherent understanding of Buber's notion of relationship which is developmental in nature and posits intrinsic, necessary and unavoidable relational ties to both the human and non-human worlds. This understanding of Buber's view of relationship as a developmental process will add new meaning to his central ideas of 'bursting asunder' the educational relationship and the educator who is cast 'in imitatio Dei absconditi sed non ignoti'.Footnote 3 Ultimately this paper wants to suggest that, for Buber, the infant is unable to become fully adult without being immersed in relationship and then coming to full awareness of it, and it is the educator who can play a pivotal role in supporting the development of this adult relationality through encounters with both individual humans and the larger non-human world. Notes 1 Education was originally presented at the Third International Educational Conference, Heidelberg, Austria 1925. The conference subject was 'The Development of the Creative Powers in the Child'. In Buber, M. (Citation1968a) Between Man and Man, R.G. Smith (trans.), Macmillan, New York. 2 As above. 3 Translated as 'In imitation of a God hidden but not unknown'. 4 Educational philosopher Maxine Greene has pointed out that, prior to this, nobody had brought elements of Buber's Hasidism directly into the educational conversation (personal communication, 2004). Other authors (Friedman, Citation1956; Gordon, Citation1973, Citation1986; Grob, Citation1985) have read and made reference to Buber's theological literature, but none explicitly used Hasidic concepts directly from that literature in support of their educational discussions. The earliest projects (Friedman, Citation1956; Winetrout, Citation1963) were useful overviews that understated Buber's theology. Scudder (Citation1968, Citation1971 & Citation1975) lacked the religious underpinnings and caused what appears to be a common misinterpretation of the educational, asymmetrical relationship, making it dangerously static and authoritarian. Although this position has spawned lively debate (Kiner, Citation1969; Gordon, Citation1973; Wingerter, Citation1973), none of the respondents, although assuming different positions, dealt with either Buber's Hasidism or with the educator as acting in imitation of God or the developmental nature of the educational relationship. More recently Buber has been examined with respect to notions of care (McHenry, Citation1997) and of the environment, and yet these works are still predominantly based in his secular literature. 5 Please note that in order to achieve clarity I am suggesting that an italicized I will serve as an indicator of Buber's I, the I of relationship, and not the I of the author. 6 Buber often uses this image of the embrace to signify relationship. He sees the embrace metaphorically, two people coming together holding each other without dissolving into one another. 7 Buber distinguishes tikkun from other traditions. He sees Vedantic philosophy as a non-dual search for unity with everything ultimately dissolving into one. Buber's unity is non-dual but multivariate, meaning unity involves many coming together as one but remaining distinct therein, hence the importance of individual uniqueness. 8 Kavana, or intention, is not solely the conscious intentions of the mind (kavanot) but also requires the 'dedication of the whole being'. 9 Buber sees confirming another as both a profound offer of acceptance and a way to assist the other to wrestle 'with him against himself' (Buber, Citation1965, p. 29). 10 For Buber there are two forms of crisis which can lead a self into hiding, render a person's psychic dynamic 'obdurate and secretive' (Buber, Citation1953, p. 134). The first is through 'negative experiences with our environment' (Buber, Citation1953, p. 134), which denies confirmation of our being. The second crisis is 'negative experiences with oneself' (Buber, Citation1953, p. 134), which is the individual's inability to confirm himself. 11 Education is Buber's most comprehensive discussion of education. Other works, such as The Education of Character (Buber, 1968b, pp. 104–117), offer further insight but are not as complete. 12 Buber tells a story in Paths to Utopia (1958b) of witnessing a beating and having the sense of being both the beater and the receiver. 13 Buber commonly uses ladder imagery, as comparable to a person climbing towards relationship with the Eternal Thou. 14 The educator must remember that each student is unique and in flux and may therefore be at a completely different stage of growth from that of other students. 15 Educators must not forget either Kavanna, intention, or tikkun, the turning. The teacher is the purveyor of grace only in so far as he tries to set the stage for understanding if and when those moments of insight occur, but it is the student who is responsible for turning herself, working hard and thoughtfully preparing for the possibility of relationship in conjunction with animals, plants, minerals and, lastly, a teacher trying to imitate God

Art history · Biography · Epistemology · Meaning (existential · Psychoanalysis · Sociology · Subject (documents · Theology · Thou · Educational Challenges and Innovations · History · Jewish Identity and Society · Philosophy · Philosophy, Ethics, and Existentialism · Psychology

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