Table Of ContentSartre on Subjectivity
and Selfhood
The Self as a Thing
Among Things
Simon Gusman
Sartre on Subjectivity and Selfhood
Simon Gusman
Sartre on Subjectivity
and Selfhood
The Self as a Thing Among Things
Simon Gusman
Philosophy
Radboud University Nijmegen
Nijmegen, The Netherlands
ISBN 978-3-030-56797-2 ISBN 978-3-030-56798-9 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-56798-9
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Preface
This book examines the notions of subjectivity and selfhood that are
developed by Jean-Paul Sartre throughout his oeuvre. The guiding thread
of this analysis is the claim Sartre makes in many of his works that the
Self is “a thing among things”. His thoughts concerning subjectivity and
selfhood change and evolve throughout his career, and I aim to uncover
the nuances of these developments.
The background of this research is the critical reception of Sartre’s phi-
losophy. Sartre received much criticism from both his contemporaries
and the succeeding generations of philosophers, and the focus of this
criticism often concerns the role of subjectivity in his thought. Sartre is
accused of defending an outdated view of the Subject – a being which has
a perspective on and/or agency in the world. His critics thought he
granted too much power and autonomy to human subjectivity. In spite
of such earlier criticisms of his work, in more recent years Sartre’s ideas
concerning subjectivity have – alongside those of other phenomenolo-
gists – become a source of inspiration for analytic philosophers of mind.
In debates in which human subjectivity has often been dismissed and
reduced to mere physical activity of the brain, a more subject-oriented
approach that draws on Sartre’s work has afforded many authors a fresh
perspective. Nevertheless, these scholars have little regard for the role of
this notion within the framework of Sartre’s own thought, and they do
v
vi Preface
not pay due attention to the criticisms Sartre’s work received in earlier
discussions of his work.
Thus, both the earlier criticism and the more recent analytic reception
of Sartre’s work are concerned with his conception of subjectivity.
Subjectivity, in turn, is directly related to the topic of selfhood. A subjec-
tive being is usually regarded as something that has a certain degree of
unity and individuality. In other words, it has a Self. What makes one
Subject different from another? Why can I say that I am the same person
throughout my life, while I am at the same time constantly changing?
How does a Subject experience itself? The answer to these and other
related questions are all central to the topic of selfhood.
For reasons that are soon to be addressed, my aim is neither to acquit
Sartre from the charges made against him by his critics nor to discredit
the reception of his thought in the philosophy of mind. Rather, against
the background of Sartre’s contemporary status, my aim is to provide an
in-depth study of one of the most important aspects of his philosophy.
The Sartre revealed by my research is a thinker who aims to critique many
of the traditional notions of subjectivity by rethinking them from within
a largely subjective framework. For Sartre, the Self is ultimately a thing
and hence an object, more than it is a Subject. Furthermore, I will address
a dimension of selfhood that is often overlooked by Sartre scholarship
although it is very influential in contemporary debates: that of the narra-
tive identity of the Self. This has to do with the stories we tell ourselves
and others about our lives and how these influence our sense of selfhood.
Our life-stories involve both subjective and objective dimensions, as they
require a narrator as well as a narrative, hence it is, as we will see, a point
where two of the central topics of Sartre’s thought meet.
Nijmegen, The Netherlands Simon Gusman
Acknowledgments
This book has grown out of my doctoral dissertation. Most of it was writ-
ten during a very turbulent period of my life. There are four people I
would like to thank specifically for their support, my paranymphs Tim
Miechels and Arjen Kleinherenbrink, my mother Margriet de Leeuw and
my oldest friend Thomas van Kalmthout.
I also want to thank my philosophical peers of Radboud University,
Stefan Schevelier, Aoife McInerney, Rob Compaijen, Mathijs van de
Sande, Frank van Caspel and Lara de Die.
Furthermore, I would like to thank my supervisors Philippe van Haute
and Annabelle Dufourcq, Christina Howells of the University of Oxford
for her remarks and Dan Zahavi of the University of Copenhagen for
accommodating my stay at the Center for Subjectivity Research.
The years in which this book took form were also my first years as a
parent. Fatherhood and philosophy are two things that are at times dif-
ficult, but always meaningful and rewarding. Therefore, last but not least,
I want to thank my son, Men Gusman.
vii
Contents
1 Introduction 1
2 Subjectivity Without Self 35
3 The Project of Freedom 97
4 The Force of Things 177
5 Conclusion 253
Author Index 275
Subject Index 277
ix
About the Author
Simon Gusman (1990) is a lecturer in Culture Studies and Philosophy
at Radboud University, Nijmegen. He obtained a PhD in Philosophy
from the same university in 2019. Before, he published the book
Avonturen bestaan niet (Adventures do not exist, Boom Amsterdam 2018),
co-authored with Arjen Kleinherenbrink. This books concerns the lust
for adventure in contemporary society and popular culture.
xi
Abbreviations
A Adieux
ASJ Anti-Semite and Jew
B Baudelaire
BN Being and Nothingness
BO Black Orpheus
CA The Condemned of Altona
CD The Chips are Down
CDR Critique of Dialectical Reason volume 1
CDR2 Critique of Dialectical Reason volume 2
CF Cartesian Freedom
CS Consciousness of Self and Knowledge of Self
E Sketch for a Theory of Emotions
EH Existentialism is a Humanism
EMP Empedoclé
F1 The Family Idiot volume 1
F2 The Family Idiot volume 2
F3 The Family Idiot volume 3
F4 The Family Idiot volume 4
F5 The Family Idiot volume 5
I Intentionality
IF Interview with L. Fretz
IG Interviews with J. Gerassi
IJ Interview with P. Carrière
xiii
