I and Thou

In contemporary parlance, a cult is a small and manipulative social group largely defined by adherence to fringe religious beliefs and ruled over by a charismatic leader of some kind. For Buber, however, and for most literature prior to the 20th century, cult is simply a word that refers to a specific mode of prayer and worship. Christian tradition, for instance, speaks of the “cult of the saints,” which just means the devotion directed toward a particular saint or mode of piety.

Eros is love which is characterized by desire. In the Romantic period, Eros came to be seen as primarily romantic and sexual, but this is a narrow and altered view of Eros as conceived in the classical and medieval eras. Eros, rather than being concerned with purely material or sexual desire, was contained in the venue for desire at large; this could be desire for anything at all, but especially desire for another human being who is loved, or for the life of the spirit, especially the desire to be in communion with God.

In discussing the I—Thou relation, Buber states that the I is the shibboleth of humanity. A shibboleth is a longstanding custom or belief that is often considered out of date or of far less importance to the contemporary culture than it was in bygone ages. Speaking of the I as a shibboleth, then, the author draws out the implications for the shifting perspective on what individuality truly means.