The Ethics of Perception: Martin Buber's Study of Nicholas of Cusa, Jakob Bohme, Art and Aesthetics

I argue that the moral structure of Buber's philosophy comes from a synthesis of the ontology of Nicholas of Cusa and Jakob Bohme with Kantian aesthetics to create an "ethics of perception." I support this new reading by analyzing an original translation of Buber's unstudied dissertation on Cusa and Bohme. This shows that Buber's notion of "I-Thou" relations is based on an account of subjectivity in which the good of the self is realized in moral relations that further the good of others, and an account of moral action that maintains that in cases of moral harm it is the imagination and not the logic or will that is flawed. I argue that "I-Thou" relations derive their moral significance from their use of reflective judgment, which allows us to grasp others as independent of our interests and moves us to promote their continued existence, autonomy and self-actualization. I conclude by examining Buber's engagement with art, myth and education in order to analyze the relation between an ethical and an aesthetic education.