Human Connection and the Mystery of Being: Toward a Metaphysically Grounded Theory of Mutuality

Abstract

Human connection is a fundamental human need, which is severely lacking in modern society. Efforts to manufacture moments of human connection often fail, or even exacerbate feelings of disconnection. Relatedly, we argue that efforts to scientifically analyze and create formulas for achieving human connection are similarly missing the mark. Social science attempts to understand human experience by reducing it to observable and measurable properties, but fails to acknowledge the metaphysical nature of human being and human connection. In this manuscript, we first review constructs from different social science disciplines attempting to capture and articulate moments of human connection, including mutuality (relational therapy), communitas (anthropology), collective effervescence (sociology), and relational flow (psychology). We then introduce the philosophical perspectives of Martin Buber and Gabriel Marcel to elaborate a metaphysical view of human connection. We argue that human connection is fundamentally a mystery, as evidenced by two fundamental paradoxes that emerge when trying to conceptualize moments of human connection, as observed in the various concepts we review. We illustrate these paradoxes in the equally mysterious experience of play, a mode of being that animates human connection. We conclude by discussing implications of a metaphysical perspective on how we grapple with human connection in organizational studies.