It vs. Thou Let Us

it vs. Thou

Let us assume that life can be led according to different principles. These principles could be the one of "it" and "thou." They would naturally dictate our values and beliefs and with those would built our expectations and desires. Naturally, the final result would be a behaviour perfectly patterned according to the primary belief. The two principles could be translated into the ones of "to have" and "to be" according to one of their potential meanings. The present paper has the purpose of presenting the implications which arise from adopting one or the other.

Let us think for example of a day in life in which everything is treated as an It. Treating everything as an it means objectifying everything. It is normal to treat things as an it because this is what they are. There are however people who get extremely attached to their earthly possessions treating things in a very possessive manner. But generally treating things as mere tools which serve for achieving a purpose or another implies a certain detached attitude.

What happens when you treat other people as being it? The same attitude of detachment is installed. In terms of relationships, this detachment is nothing less but indifference. In other words, one will not care less about the lives of the others. One would be indifferent to the pain and suffering of the others. This could be easy considering how exciting the perspective of caring for yourself only is. But since people live in communities, interact with each other and depend on one each other even if this happens involuntarily, the only possible consequence is general conflict. Homo homini lupus becomes the most accurate phrase to describe the situation.

Another possible situation is that when we, treating the others as it end up wanting to posses them. We posses things and nowadays more than ever we tend to create an identity for ourselves according to the things that we own. Owning other people, not necessarily as slaves, but most likely as partners would make the self-esteem increase. But it is in the human's nature to want to be free. Psychological freedom is essential and keeping others prisoners will interfere with their well being. Sooner or later, they would rebel and the relationships would be broken. The final result can be nothing else but chaos and suffering.

The consequences are negative for the both parties implied. The one who is objectified suffers and the one who objectifies as well because this goal can not ne achieved. When the desired possession escapes this will cause a diminishment of the self-esteem as well as issues regarding one's own identity (if you are what you have, what are you when you stop having?).

A third possible situation refers to the self. If everything is an it you end up being an it. Does this imply a cold awareness of the self as a perishable being with limited powers or does it lead you to believe you can be a perfect robot able to manipulate nature and the world according to your specific needs and desires? Being an it means having no soul. Having no soul implies being immortal. Being immortal implies that God does not exist. At that point man-it becomes the most powerful existing agent.

But reality contradicts this assumption and the failures of the man-it can do nothing more but hurt him. Furthermore, the lack of faith and the failure of reason to provide answers regarding the questions " What is the truth? What is essential? Why do I exist?, etc." leads to strong alienation. Having such an attitude as a life philosophy is unhealthy and very dangerous.

The other alternative is treating everything as a thou. Thou is a synonym for you and has a strong respectful connotation this respect may be of religious nature. From this point-of-view, it could be stated that seeing the world in terms of "you" installs a strong sacred dimension. It is important to underline that this manner of seeing the world implies a great selfishness. It is not even a "me- you" relation, but one focused on the other.

On the one hand this allows one to become extremely detached from himself. Seeing the other in everything is also a means of observing not only general human coordinates, but a means that can be used in order to understand your reactions better. Stopping to focus on the self, one passes from the "to have" paradigm to the "to be" paradigm. This allows for a strong degree of freedom and therefore self development.