How can we overcome the dichotomy that western culture has created between the concepts of independence and dependence?

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapterpeer-review

Abstract

The purpose of this article, inspired by the works of Martin Buber, is to propose an alternative to the inherent dichotomy of Western culture. It may allow Western culture to transcend its fixed nature towards new directions and to suggest challenging solutions for reshaping the questions - what is the role of man in the world, and what is the nature of education? Although Western culture sacralizes and attributes pivotal importance to the independence of human beings, in actuality the human spirit contains a constant dialectic between the need for independence in shaping and crystallizing man's individualism, and his need for differentiation and dependence on otherness. While that otherness expresses defamiliarization, it also allows connections and the need to structure otherness; and dependence on it is one of the basic needs of human existence.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationThe Dilemma of Western Philosophy
PublisherTaylor and Francis
Pages36-41
Number of pages6
ISBN (Electronic)9781315113333
ISBN (Print)9781138080614
DOIs
StatePublished - 28 Jul 2017

Bibliographical note

Copyright Year 2018. This book was originally published as a special issue of Educational Philosophy and Theory

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'How can we overcome the dichotomy that western culture has created between the concepts of independence and dependence?'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this