Being and Nothingness

Jean-Paul Sartre claims that a focus on phenomenon has helped philosophy to make great strides. Phenomenon helped philosophers apply singular approaches to understanding existence rather than constantly relying on dualities. Sartre suggests that humans cannot separate their internal and external existences, and he rejects the concept of a “true nature.” The idea of a true nature, or noumenal reality, destroys the possibility of perception and implies that only man can have being. If everything about being is tied to a predetermined essence and a concrete existence, then everything else has a negative quality. Sartre suggests that embracing Nietzsche’s philosophy of letting go of “the illusion of backworlds”—referring to the belief that there is a meaning to existence outside of phenomenon—transforms everything that can be perceived into positive qualities (2). Sartre suggests that essence does not come before existence; instead, it comes afterward, revealed through phenomenon.

What Sartre is referring to here is best summarized with the Latin phrase en causa sui, which refers to being one’s own cause. Sartre’s text opens with the rejection of the long-accepted belief that humans are born with