What It Means to be Truly Human in Organizations: Martin Buber’s Concept of I-Thou Relations
Type
book section
Date Issued
2020
Author(s)
Editor(s)
Korten, D.
Pirson, M.
Wasieleski, D.
Steckler, E.
Aguado, R.
Abstract
This chapter invites us to think differently of organizations. The theory of the firm and related theories depict human relations in terms of their objects and instrumentalities. This conception, however, precludes any metaphysical account of human relating. In this chapter, we look to an historical figure, Jewish philosopher Martin Buber, for special insight into the nature of human relations that has largely escaped notice in contemporary organization studies. We begin by unpacking Buber’s distinction between two modes of relating: I-It and I-Thou; first, to recognize that it involves profound distinctions in how we come to relationships, and particularly how we understand their ontology, epistemology, and causality; and second, to recognize that it invites us to think differently about business. Upon this foundation, we draw also from allied ideas of the social teaching of the Catholic Church to point the way toward a new language of business rooted in the being of I-Thou relations.
Language
English
HSG Classification
contribution to scientific community
HSG Profile Area
SoM - Responsible Corporate Competitiveness (RoCC)
Book title
Alternatives to the Theory of the Firm
Publisher
Routledge Publishers
Subject(s)
Contact Email Address
ulrich.leicht-deobald@unisg.ch
Eprints ID
260307
File(s)![Thumbnail Image]()
open.access
Name
Buber chapter_preprint2.pdf
Size
364.55 KB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
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