The Fetus and the You (Symbol)
In Chapter 2, Buber argues that our mode of existence in the world is first of all relational. This means we perceive the world as a You and are completely immersed in a relation with it. Only later does the I separate off from the world in perceiving it as a distinct "It." Buber turns to the symbol of the fetus to describe this transition:
The prenatal life of the child is a pure natural association, a flowing toward each other, a bodily reciprocity; and the life horizon of the developing being appears uniquely inscribed, and yet also not inscribed, in that of the being that carries it; for the womb in which it dwells is not solely that of the human mother. (76)
At first, a fetus is one with the womb that is its world. But in birth, the fetus is separated from the mother. There is a move from relation to separation. This is a model of the transition throughout life of a You becoming an It.
Socrates and Goethe (Symbols)
As Buber discusses the You and its relational mode of existence, he finds two “representatives” or symbols in Western literature and philosophy:
The “adequate, true, and pure” I-saying of the representatives of association, the Socratic and the Goethean persons, resounds through the ages. (116)
Socrates was an ancient Greek philosopher known for what has become the Socratic method, which is about learning through dialogue. Goethe was a famous German author from the late 18th and early 19 centuries, associated with literary romanticism. His novels similarly put characters into dialogue and conversation. Because of their interest in reciprocity and truth being developed not by an individual but in relation, Socrates and Goethe together symbolize the I-You relation. That they are from different cultures and very different histories shows that this relation is not historically or culturally specific, but, as Buber says, “resounds through the ages.”
Demons vs. Gods (Allegory)
In discussing the competition and difference between the I-You mode of existence and the I-It, Buber provides an allegory drawn from Hindu tradition:
The Brahmana of the hundred paths relates that the gods and the demons were once engaged in a contest. Then the demons said: “To whom shall I offer our sacrifices?” They placed all offerings in their own mouths. But the gods placed the offerings in one another’s mouth. Then Prajapati, the primal spirit, bestowed himself upon the gods. (110-11)
Here, the demons represent the It because they isolate and separate themselves off from the world. For them, the world is for their own individual use. The gods, in contrast, symbolize the I-You, because they are in relation with one another. They practice mutuality and reciprocity, and in turn are not isolated as individuals but bound together as a community.
