The call and the response. Martin Heidegger and Martin Buber on responsibility

Abstract

The philosophy of subjectivity reached its limits at the beginning of the 20th century. Various attempts at new thinking appears as a reaction to these limits. Such attempts involve, among others, the philosophy of dialogue that was represented in the works of Franz Rosenzweig, Martin Buber, and Eberhard Grisebach. Another approach includes Martin Heidegger’s demand for returning to the question of Being. In this article I intend to present that both attempts are similar in many ways, although their representatives tended to be critical of one another. However, the thought of Martin Buber as well as Martin Heidegger proves to understand a man as a dynamic being, who faces “the calling”. First, I will analyse the thought of Martin Heidegger as presented in Being and Time, then I describe the thought of Martin Buber mainly based on his treaty I and Thou. Finally, I compare the similarities and differences in the thinking of both philosophers.