Being and Nothingness

Heavily influenced by Nietzsche, Sartre's "Being and Nothingness" rebukes any higher being or entity which goes beyond the physical make-up of reality, and reaffirms that the physical being is the only true reality. Sartre believes this view as not a negative one, and despite somewhat bleak philosophy, people should perceive the physical, experiential world as the only ultimate reality truth.

The main theme in Being and Nothingness is the concept of being-for-itself and being-in-itself. These concepts are relatively easy to interpret. The being-for-itself is a way to describe the subject and consciousness, whereas being-in-itself deals with the physical nature of objects. The two can be overlapped and often mistaken for the other. For Sartre, "nothingness" is the defining characteristic of the for-itself. An inanimate object is unable to establish its "being", and thus remains in the nothingness. Conversely, man has has to make his being through his behaviour, instead of being nothing.

Sartre makes the point that a being-for-itself will interact with another being-for-itself, and he explores aspects such as “the gaze” and “the other”, which he views as abnormal and alien. The way in which humans are aware of the way they are seen not only causes them to deny the consciousness, but also lets them see this denial in others. In turn, we view the other who looks at us as superior and dominating, even if we know that his gaze as detrimental to us.

In response to the gaze of the other, we will assert ourselves as free and conscious and attempt to objectify the individual who objectifies us, and the relationship is reversed. This view is very true indeed and is a superb analysis of the way in which human minds work. There are almost endless examples throughout society, which suggests that Sartre's analysis on relationships is almost spot on. Freedom for some often results in the restriction in another as can be seen in the way women have been treated in the past compared with how they act in the present day.