Martin Buber’s Small Theological–Political Tractate The Question to the Single One as a Call for Intersubjective Action

Abstract

Martin Buber saw The Question to the Single One (his small theological–political tractate) as an addition that completed his dialogical work I and Thou by broadening dialogical thought to the theological–political–social level. This article presents new findings regarding the tractate’s composition. Furthermore, it delves into the concealed depth of meaning behind Buber’s argument with Søren Kierkegaard which is revealed from within the historical context of Nazi Germany. Indeed, the work is a brave and daring call to the German Christian as a single one standing before God, rousing him to behave in the intersubjective realm according to his obligation to social–political responsibility in response to God’s command. The ethical meaning deviates here from the historical: it constitutes a timeless call for action and responsible theo-political behavior on the social–political plane, which is relevant to our time; an ethical relationship with every other person, and deciding in favor of truth, even at the cost of opposing one’s own collective.