The Transcendence of the Ego

The Transcendence of the Ego

"The Transcendence of the Ego" is a philosophical and psychological essay written by Jean-Paul Sartre in 1937. The essay demonstrates Sartre’s transition from traditional phenomenological thinking and most notably his break from Edmund Husserl’s school of thought. This transition is more apparent after Sartre’s military service from 1939 where we observe a rather more sympathetic view of being in the world, a topic that is detailed upon in much greater detail in his 1943 work "L’Etre et le Néant". It is precisely this essay that begins Sartre’s study and hybridisation of phenomenology and ontology.

The basis of the essay is to at once appreciate Husserl’s description of 'intended objects' being described in their own right, but also observe the ego as 'in the world' and not formally or materially of consciousness. For Sartre it was rather more apt to describe the ego as an object for consciousness.

'Intentional objects' are objects of consciousness; that is to say physical objects, numbers, value, the psyche, and psycho-physical person that Sartre agreed should be studied in their own right. It was also Sartre's view, that differed from Husserl's, that 'intentional objects' are consciousness, and that the value of intended stuffs was in consciousness of them. 'Intentional objects' are therefore both objects of consciousness and consciousness, and this is because consciousness is both itself and reflection of it. Sartre describes the cogito by noting that 'the consciousness which says I think'—this is to the consciousness that can reflect on the mental concept of thinking—is not 'the consciousness which thinks'. So one can think of ones own thinking, like the idea that a painting of a pipe is not pipe proper. And so consciousness is of its own properties, transcendental as there is inclusive in it, itself and reflection of it.

For Sartre 'incidental objects' are objects for consciousness and consciousness itself just as consciousness itself is both consciousness and reflecting consciousness. Moreover, consciousness is in the world as we are conscious of things, but we are also conscious of ourselves being conscious of things, so things and our own consciousness of the things evoke our own reflective consciousness, unfortunately there exists no easier or any less mundane sounding explanation of what is meant here. It remains to be pointed out that the consciousness of reflection is not able to be reflected on.

In light of this for Sartre, the constitution of the ego is 'states and actions [these intended objects we speak of] it supports'. This is to say that the material presence of things in turn proves the ontology of the object contemplating them. Ego is then nothing without something in which to contemplate but is reliant on itself and its being. Further, the flexibility of consciousness for Sartre is the ability to contemplate something in its absence, this being special for his idea of reflection.

He concludes that though people can contemplate the same thing, we cannot contemplate 'the intuitive apprehension' of another. This connotes the Sartrean idea of becoming apprehensive about the awareness that we are to be responsible for our own doings, and also that we can be conscious of the thing like another consciousness is conscious of the thing, but we cannot reflect on their being conscious of the thing like we can reflect on our being conscious of the thing. In this way we are still only condemned to making ourselves as we battle with our own consciousness, and so we don’t create the world, we are objects in the world.


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • The Doors of Perception —   …   Wikipedia

  • Ego death — is an experience sometimes undergone by psychonauts, mystics, shamans, monks, psychologists, and others interested in exploring the depths of the mind.The practice of ego death as a deliberately sought mystical experience in some ways overlaps,… …   Wikipedia

  • The Nonexistent Knight — (Italian: Il cavaliere inesistente ) is an allegorical fantasy novel by Italo Calvino, first published in Italian 1959 and in English translation in 1962. The novel tells the story of Agilulf, a medieval knight who perfectly exemplifies chivalry …   Wikipedia

  • The 36 tattvas — In Kaśmir Śaivism, the 36 tattvas describe the Absolute, its internal aspects and the creation including living beings, down to the physical reality. The addition of 11 supplemental tattvas compared to the IAST|Sāṃkhya allows for a richer, fuller …   Wikipedia

  • Ego Disintegration — Refimprove|date=August 2007Ego death is an experience sometimes undergone by psychonauts, mystics, shamans, monks, psychologists, and others interested in exploring the depths of the mind.The practice of ego death as a deliberately sought… …   Wikipedia

  • Phenomenology (The beginnings of) — The beginnings of phenomenology Husserl and his predecessors Richard Cobb Stevens Edmund Husserl was the founder of phenomenology, one of the principal movements of twentieth century philosophy. His principal contribution to philosophy was his… …   History of philosophy

  • Hegelians (The Young), Feuerbach, and Marx — The Young Hegelians, Feuerbach, and Marx Robert Nola Largely through lectures delivered at the University of Berlin, Hegel built up a circle of followers, mainly contemporaries or pupils, who were intent on working out aspects of the… …   History of philosophy

  • The Price of Privilege — Infobox Book name = The Price of Privilege author = Madeline Levine, Ph.D. cover artist = publisher = Harper Collins release date = 2006 media type = Hardcover pages = 224, 236 including notes. size weight = isbn = ISBN 0 06 059584 1 The Price of …   Wikipedia

  • A Guide for the Perplexed — is a short book by E.F. Schumacher, published in 1977. Schumacher himself considered A Guide for the Perplexed to be his most important achievement, although he was better known for his 1974 environmental economics bestseller Small Is Beautiful …   Wikipedia

  • Relation of God to the Universe —     Relation of God to the Universe     † Catholic Encyclopedia ► Relation of God to the Universe     1. Essential Dependence of the Universe on God (Creation and Conservation)     In developing the argument of the First Cause we have seen that… …   Catholic encyclopedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”