Lesson 1

MEANING OF INTERSUBJECTIVITY
“There is a ‘we’ that emerges that
was not there before this
intersubjectivity encounter”.
— Gabriel Marcel
Defining Intersubjectivity: Gabriel Marcel
Intersubjectivity is "the realm of existence to which the
preposition with properly applies" (Marcel, 1950: 180).
There are instances in which we use the preposition with
it doesn't simply mean being together through
aggregation like the way passengers in a jeepney are
together, let's say, on a rainy day, where they all cramp
together, each one scrambling for space to sit on. Their
bodies may be touching, bumping, impinging on one
another's flesh, yet we do not say that the passengers
are with each other. They may be facing each other, in
the same way that family members on a dinner are faced
toward each other, but the presence of one passenger
with another passenger is not a co-presence.
Each passenger is concerned with her bag (vigilant
against pickpockets), his destination, her fare and his
sukli. Much like in the song, "people talking without
speaking, people hearing without listening".
when does the jeepney turn into a realm of
intersubjectivity. Let's suppose that one passenger enters
with a bewildered face, quite clearly lost. Then he turns
to ask one passenger for directions going to Quiapo. The
other passengers her to stop in this unloading zone, take
another jeepney and so forth. Another turn to her, sense
her bewilderment, and answer her question. One would
tell would probably warn her about the dangers that she
might encounter when She walks so and so street.
Another would tell her of an easier route to her
destination.
The passenger smiles, takes in all the answers, then
thanks all of them. In that brief moment, all strangers in
the jeepney were not just present to themselves but
opened their presence to that lady. In that brief moment,
they were with the other. The other becomes present to
us when we are available We incalcula to them and, in
turn, they are available to us. Through intersubjectivity
transcend the labels that society puts on us and we
recognize an inherent value of a person. As Marcel would
point out, this preposition "with"
"does not properly apply...to the purely objective
world." We do not "I am with my table," or "I am with
this cat." Rather, "I am beside this table or "I am
bringing/holding/taking my cat." The preposition "with"
properly applies to the realm of persons, of subjects, not
objects. It is what signifies intersubjectivity.
To be with the other is to open my self to the being of
the other, which is a mystery. As we have shown in our
discussion of embodied spirit, we have distinguished
the treatment of a human person as "problem" from
that of "mystery." Being a mystery, the human being is
removed from the category of things, or of "having."
Something "I have" is an instrument that one can
possess, use, and discard after use. That is why any
treatment of the person as mere tool that can be
manipulated, any treatment of the person as a beast,
leads to a cry for justice; for it does violence to the
dignity and essence of a human person. To mutually
respect each other as subjects, that is intersubjectivity.
 To-be-is-to-be-with
The word "living" is a general term that covers plant, animal and
human life. The medical sciences have a specific definition of life "the
state of existence characterized by such functions as metabolism,
growth, reproduction. adaptation, and response to stimuli"
(Medilexicon, 2016). If we closely look this definition, we would note
that it refers not only to human life but to animal life in general. From
a medical point of view, a doctor can say that one is alive by looking
at the vital signs of living. Marcel, however, argues that there is more
to human life other than the vital signs we share with animals in
general.
For Marcel, there is a seeming contradiction because we use two
different senses of the word "living One refers to a scientific
definition, another points to a more living which Marcel singles out
as "human living." "Human living" is "living of something other than
itself.
The center of human life is outside specific form of of
itself. This is captured in one of the teachings of Jesus
Christ, said "Whoever finds his life will lose it, and
whoever loses his life for my sake will find it" (Matthew
10:39)
This is Marcel's intuition about human life. He tests this
by imagining the life of slaves who get enraged by their
situation. When slaves are reduced into mere objects or
instruments and are not given due respect as person,
there is a voice deep down that nags them, "There must
be more to my life than bearing this yoke imposed
unjustly upon me." The cruel master might say in reply.
"What is there to complain about? I give you enough
money to feed your self. For that you are alive. Why not
be contented?" What the cruel master fails to see is that
human life is not just about catering to one's biological
sustenance.
For Marcel, we find that meaning outside of our selves in
the other. The French word for meaning, sens, literally
means direction. Hence, the argument here is that life is
human as it is propelled or directed towards something
other than itself. A life that is only concerned about its
biological sustenance is focused only on oneself. People
who hoard or corrupt resources are people who are
focused only on their own sustenance. People who live in
fear that their properties might be taken away from them
isolate themselves by putting up high walls both literally
and figuratively. When the focus is on one's survival and
the preservation of the means for that survival, human
life becomes stale like a puddle of water that only
receives and never flows onto other channels.
 We learn about saints, martyrs and heroes who gave
their lives for others, and we wonder where they draw
their strength and superabundant love. "Whoever tries
to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will
preserve it"(Luke 17:33).
For Marcel, these are the people who have embraced
the reality of human living. They live for others because
it is who they are, it is what human living is. To be, to
exist in a human way, is to be with. Intersubjectivity is
thus a state in which one recognizes one's being as a
being- with-others. It is not human life if it is centered
on itself. It becomes human, that is, it is humanized, as
soon as one de-centers oneself from himself, that is.
when the center of one's life is on the care for the
welfare of another.