Being and Nothingness

Sartre’s philosophical inquiry of the body begins similarly to the other chapters in the text. He rejects an approach which is reliant upon the acceptance of the body as reality. This acceptance is not based upon personal experience. Instead, it is based upon the experience of the Other. One cannot see one’s own brain or even obtain a collective view of one’s own body. Sartre illustrates this point with vision. One cannot turn one’s eyes upon the self to observe one’s own eyes. There is limitation to the ability of the self. This limitation creates a sense of isolation; it pulls the being-for-itself away from the unity of its consciousness.

Sartre suggests that the reality of this limitation transforms the body into a type of personal negation. Since one can never turn vision toward one’s own body, one is aware of the nothingness of the physical self. This idea correlates with Sartre’s earlier point that consciousness must always be consciousness of something else. For the self to be conscious of one’s own body, it must be able to observe it, to produce a relational value with it, yet this cannot happen because the body is physically incapable of perceiving itself. However, because one has seen other bodies, one makes assumptions about the reality of one’s own physical self. One can see the eyes of the Other and, therefore, becomes aware of the existence of one’s own eyes. Sartre proposes that it makes more sense to understand the reality of one’s own body through the recognition of the world. Humans understand the world cannot exist without its relational value to the physical self.

Once again, Sartre rejects the duality that appears so often in philosophy. The intuition a person feels about the physical self has little to do with the reality of the body. The text describes this as the first ontological dimension of the body and suggests that humans are their bodies rather than living inside their bodies. Just as Sartre examined the outside world and absorbed it into consciousness, Sartre emphasizes the body as a part of human existence and being-for-itself. The text proposes that the second ontological principle is that the body exists for the Other. These modes of being contrast with the third ontological principle, which describes how the Other can view the body of the self and know it in a way that the self cannot.

One way to think about this is through the modern scientific concept of the “me” illusion. This theory proposes that humans are never fully self-aware because they cannot see their own bodies. The theory suggests that if a person were to encounter an exact replica of the self in the world, they would not recognize the body of that person as being identical to their own. The awareness that the Other is viewing us adds to consciousness, creating in the sense of self feelings of shame or excitement. Sartre therefore views being as a broad and blanketing term that incorporates several concepts previously viewed as dualities, including the internal and external, physical and spiritual.

Sartre’s philosophical approach to the body is important to understand within the context of his personal life. Sartre’s physical appearance was of little consequence to him. He is known for describing his face as ugly. Sartre’s philosophy of the body is about transcendence, moving beyond the body. Sartre proposes that, although humans can never get to know their own bodies fully, they can get to know the body of the Other and begin to understand through reflection what that says about the self. However, he dismisses the idea that humans may be able to know their own bodies, just as he dismisses earlier in the text the idea that one can know that one is conscious. Being is not seen as synonymous with knowledge, because there is no object-reflection relationship between the mind and consciousness. One cannot observe one’s own consciousness. Therefore, one can never truly know that one exists. However, one can be aware that one exists through various processes, including negation. The same is true for the body. By perceiving the Other, one gains a better understanding of one’s own consciousness.