I and Thou

There are two primary words that exist in human language and existence: they are combinations of words that together make up single-words realities. The first is “the combination I—Thou,” and the second is “the combination I—It” (12). The first combination is unalterable, while the second combination can be modified by replacing It with He or She. The existence of these two combinations determines that “the I of man is twofold” (12), since the I of the first primary combination differs significantly from the I of the second combination. Additionally, the self-referential I of each combination is assumed when humans speak of Thou and It/He/She since the existence of the latter presumes the existence of the former.

Human life revolves around two realities: the reality of experiences and the reality of relationship. This is the difference between Thou and It. Usually humans are said to experience the world, but this is not entirely true since it is not experience alone that makes up human reality. The world is experienced, but when it is, the world has no part in the process—experience is something that human beings do, and in which the world passively participates: “AS EXPERIENCE, the world belongs to the primary word I—It” (13).