Symmetry ~ Fall 2009
The single man in isolation possesses in himself the essence of man neither as a moral nor as a thinking being. The essence of man is contained only in the community, in the unity of man and man – a unity which rests upon the reality of the difference between “I” and “thou.”
Martin Buber
The difference between Buber’s “I” and “thou” is, according to both Derrida and Levinas, much the same as the difference between the ego and the other existing in what might be called a transcendental symmetry. To me you are the other while I remain me yet to you I am the other while you remain you. This symmetry is a symmetry of difference without the ability to reduce the relationship to the same. Transcendental symmetry requires that there be a gap between two individuals that is filled with opportunities to negotiate mis-understandings, mis-representations, mis-takes and so on. It is through the mis- that one positively negotiates relationships, shuns binary oppositions as solutions, reaches out to be response-able for the other.
This is not a symmetry of sameness, rather it is a symmetry of tension, of difficult understandings, choices, judgments, positions without which one may easily fall into the trap of prejudice and bigotry. The symmetry of tension opens opportunities to listen causing one to rethink ideas. Without such a symmetry of tension we are inclined to take for granted that which we believe as absolute truth without interrogating the taken for granted position. Such is a prescription for social disaster and immoral behavior.
The symmetry of tension must be embraced as a positive aspect of one’s existence. It provides the road to a difficult freedom and an ethical response to the very tensions that drive the difference in the first place.
The Symmetry ~ Fall 2009 by Roger Passman, unless otherwise expressly stated, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
