  Philosophical criticism of Buber tends to focus on three areas: [1] epistemological questions regarding the status of the I-Thou form of relationship and the status of the object-world delimited by the I-It form of relationship, [2] hermeneutical questions regarding Buber’s reading of Hasidic source material, and [3] doubts regarding the author’s rhetoric and style that touch upon the philosophy of language. All three lines of criticism have at their core the problem of the conflict between realism and idealism, world-affirmation and world-denial.