“New Thinking” and the Loss of Dualis. A Contribution to the Philosophy of Dialogue

Abstract

The “New Thinking”, somewhat unfortunately called the philosophy of dialogue, is still getting stalled in misunderstandings. The objective of this article is such its concise presentation which could prevent these misunderstandings. First of all, the so-called double number, dualis, is recalled, and the argumentation is presented that the loss of dualis has hindered us from understanding the You–I (Ger. Du–Ich) relationship. Meanwhile, this relation, according to the philosophers of dialogue, constitutes the reality of man and is the proper starting point for philosophical thinking, eliminating from this position a classic subject–object reference.