THE REDEMPTIVE POSSIBILITY OF LANGUAGE. FROM THE "PROPER NAME" IN ROSENZWEIG TO THE "SAY THOU" IN BUBER

Faced with the oblivion of the individual being, Rosenzweig proposes to relocate the concrete reality in the center of the philosophical thoughts and the proper way to do this is through language. The "name", especially, will be, according to Rosenzweig, the way to make the Redemption effective in the world. This idea influences another contemporary thinker, Martin Buber. But the Austrian philosopher understands the redemptive possibility of language, not in the "name", but in "saying Thou". The purpose of this essay is to set forth this ethical comprehension of language, essential to the "new thinking" proposed by Rosenzweig, relating it with that of his friend and collaborator Martin Buber.