Navigating Beyond Interpersonal Manipulation: Insights from Heidegger's Perspective

In this paper, we explore the question of how manipulative interactions may be transformed to healthier non-manipulative ones-or, in Buber's terms, move from an "I-It" to an "I-Thou" relationship. To address this question, we draw on Heidegger's viewpoint of pre-reflective practice, particularly his concepts "readiness-to-hand" and "presence-at-hand", and analyze the manipulative mode of interpersonal interaction through this lens. Building upon this framework while incorporating relevant psychoanalytic theories and case studies, we then identified boundary-setting as a crucial mechanism for navigating beyond interpersonal manipulation. Furthermore, the paper delves into four specific cases of self-other interaction to provide a deeper understanding of intersubjective dynamics and their implications for relational transformation.