ABSTRACT
The term I-It describes the detached attitude of the individual toward items of experience and use (with “experience” defined in a specific way by Buber, as explained in Module 2).1 This is a mode of engagement where the self stands separate and apart from the object of perception, relating to the world and its contents as an “I” to an “It.” This is a world in which things are objectified and bounded. They can be classified, measured, and manipulated (as in the manner of modern scientific methods, for example). The subject in the I-It attitude perceives the world as “ordered and detached” and is defined as an “individual” differentiated from other individuals.2 The words “He” or “She” can be substituted for “It” insofar as it is possible to treat humans in this way as objects.
