REL_ST 3410 Lecture 3: Reli Stud 3451 Lesson 3
Document Summary
After reading alsford"s work and understanding his thoughts about human beings, i decided that the human as social/ relational category was the most essential characteristic of humans in the u. s. today. In our current society, it is very important to know people and have relationships with people in order to progress both personally and professionally. In the professional world, the phrase, it"s all about who you know is often used to describe how to gain success. I think that this phrase really speaks to the category of humans as social/relational category and why it is so essential. In chapter 2, alsford references a philosopher named martin buber, who talks about the difference between an i-it relationship and an i-thou relationship. Today, people sometimes focus on forming i-it relationships, meaning they treat people and their relationships as an object or tool to get further in life, rather than forming real and meaningful relationships, which describes an i-thou relationship.