AB-PHILOSOPHY 3-1N GROUP 2 PHENOMENOLOGY

AND EXISTENTIALISM

May 19, 2023

SARTRE'S PHENOMENOLOGICAL ONTOLOGY

De Guzman, John Carlos Lanang, Carl James

Domingo, Jobert Brian Villaflores, Tricia
Evangelista, Marithe Lyka

Report Outline

Main Topic 1: Introduction – The Pursuit of Being

a. Subtopic 1: Descartes’ Cartesian Tradition and Husserl’s approach as foundation of
Sartre’s Phenomenology
a. Subtopic 2: The Critiques of Sartre on Descartes and Husserl

Main Topic 2: Sartre’s View of Consciousness (pre-reflective, reflective, and self-reflective

consciousness)

a. Subtopic 1: The Transphenomenals from the Phenomenon

b. Subtopic 2: The Pre-reflective Cogito
c. Subtopic 3: Being-for-itself and Being-in-itself

Main Topic 3: The Problem of Nothingness

a. Subtopic 1: What is Nothingness

b. Subtopic 2: Negation and its Origin
c. Subtopic 3: Freedom, Anguish, and Bad Faith

Main Topic 4: Comparison of Sartrean and Heideggerian Existential Phenomenology

a. Subtopic 1: Existential Phenomenology

b. Subtopic 2: Sartre’s Concept of Existential Phenomenology

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 c. Subtopic 3: Heidegger's Concept of Existential Phenomenology

Descriptive Outline

Main Topic 1: Introduction – The Pursuit of Being

Assigned Reporter: Tricia M. Villaflores
Sartre reveals in the introduction the problem that he is about to dwell on the text
which was the relation of thought to reality or the relation of consciousness to being. His aim
was to emphasise his thesis in a phenomenological method that consciousness is linked with
the existence of things. He argues that phenomena, unlike what Kant proposed, reveal the
existence of both consciousness and things. Sartre concluded that existence is not reducible to
phenomena, or meaning, for the existence, or being, of consciousness is not identical with
phenomenon. He also showed that phenomena, as it was the awareness of objects, pursued to
reveal the existence of things. Sartre built his idea around the support of other pre-existing
ideas coming from Descartes, Husserl, Kant, Heidegger and the likes, that which he came to
argue to show that consciousness is in immediate grasp of existence of things, the being of
things, and that this being of things is not reducible to our awareness of things as a meaning.

Subtopic 1: Descartes’ Cartesian Tradition and Husserl’s approach as foundation of

Sartre’s Phenomenology
Cartesianism was built around Descartes’ system that adapts an initial doubting of the
world’s existence that when practised, the consequent certitude of the self as a thinking
substance immediately became aware of its own ideas as possible copies of reality, and the
dualism of mind and matter. Descartes’ conception of knowledge is about the direct
awareness of the ideas and a reasoning process to know which ideas are possible copies of
reality and which are merely modified by the mind. Sartre, among many others, came to
agree to Descartes’ argument that the first object of philosophical reflection is man himself.
However, despite of Descartes’ influence of Sartre, Sartre’s view on knowledge and
consciousness is different that’s why from the break from Cartesian tradition is Sartre’s
dwelling on the influence of Husserl that is as well familiar with the difficulty of Descartes
and others who try to prove the existence of the external world. Husserl claims that as we put
a “bracket” on the question of the existence of things, they will still appear to be essentially
the same, having him redefine “objectivity”. To say something is “objective” is to describe
how it appears and its description can be communicated to others. Hence, in discussing the

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“essential” difference that can be shared to others is also the approach of which he chose to
move forward. Husserl insisted that its method rather than deductive should be descriptive, or
in other words phenomenological method that carefully examines each object of
consciousness. An approach that Sartre also adapted. Furthermore, Husserl built his notion of
transcendental ego that is a unifying structure within consciousness itself that Sartre, along
the way, took issue with in continuance of his argument.

Subtopic 2: The Critiques of Sartre on Descartes and Husserl

Sartre, as he acknowledged the thesis laid down by Descartes and Husserl, came to
build his argument around the gaps and said to be inconsistency of Descartes and Husserl’s
argument. Sartre came to disagree with Descartes in regards to doing logical analysis of ideas
for he did his philosophy with the fact that an awakening to reality is simply being there
without any necessary reason for its existence and by an awareness of himself as absolutely
free. He also introduces Descartes cogito to modify the distinction between Sartre philosophy
from Descartes’ “I think therefore I am”. Sartre here identifies an underlying presence of
consciousness that is not reflective on the pre-reflective consciousness as opposed to the
reflective consciousness. Moreover, Sartre attacks Husserl’s phenomenology by showing that
Husserl’s phenomenology alters the reality of the thing by its objectivity allowing the unity of
the existing thing to lose. Sartre also indicates that even on the level of essences, there is the
problem of infinite series of appearances to guarantee the objectivity of the object.

Main Topic 2: Sartre's View of Consciousness

Assigned Reporter: John Carlos D.R De Guzman

Subtopic 1: The Transphenomenals from the Phenomenon

The being of phenomenon is not the phenomenon of being; brute existence in the
existents, although it stands as needed for their being, cannot be accounted to phenomenal
conditions. Two regions of being arise from the phenomenon: consciousness and existence.
Now consciousness is us, and existence is manifested on things in-itself. These are
transphenomanalities that relate to each other. By these two, it is not possible for our
knowledge of things to be grounded solely on knowledge—knowledge is grounded in being.
This is so due to our consciousness's inherent tendency to access existence in an ontological
order; grasp of the manifestation of existence is ontological rather than epistemological. The

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essence of the existents manifesting themselves as appearances is not what comes to the
consciousness but rather their existence; existence precedes essence on the level of
consciousness.

Subtopic 2: The Pre-reflective Cogito

Consciousness, in its transphenomenality, is the pre-reflective cogito. It is

intentional/relational, in the sense that it is directly and immediately aware of something that
is not itself; its awareness is directed outward, restoring its genuine interaction with the
outside world. But it is also indirectly aware of itself; it is also self-consciousness;
consciousness is directly aware of its object while simultaneously indirectly aware of itself.
Consciousness is also capable of having presence to self, in such a way of retaining its basic
intentionality (consciousness-of). By the act of reflection, the pre-reflective cogito
synthesizes and unifies its experiences and immediately slips away from that synthetic
unification precisely of its basic capacity "to-be-aware-of"; consciousness is elsewhere, and
by that it is capable of having presence to itself.

Subtopic 3: Being-for-itself and Being-in-itself

One can also call the two transphenomenalities "consciousness" and "existence" as
"for-itself" and "being-in-itself." The For-itself (which is human reality; consciousness) is not
perfectly one with himself, is in a state of lack of identity, and is identified by its object. The
Being-in-itself—including the in-itself—on the other hand, is perfectly identified with itself
and does not suffer a lack of identity; it is whole, complete, does not stand in need of
justification and reason—it is itself.

Main Topic 3: The Problem of Nothingness

Assigned Reporter: Marithe Lyka J. Evangelista

The problem of nothingness emerges from the fact that human beings, by nature,
always strive towards something that is unrealistic, creating a sense of frustration and
anguish. Sartre argued that human beings are free and therefore responsible for their own
actions and decisions as they come with real consequences in life. And since human beings
are conscious of it, they may try to escape from it as it is too burdensome for them, so they
rely on external sources that would provide them with a sense of stability and security but

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ultimately limit their potential for self-growth. This is the problem of nothingness. It comes
with a sense of freedom, anguish, and bad faith, and it highlights the process of the existential
challenges that we face in our modern society. It also emphasizes the significance of
addressing our own existence and the nothingness that is part of it- therefore, it challenges us
to find meaning within ourselves rather than conforming to external sources.

Subtopic 1: What is Nothingness

For Sartre, nothingness is the feeling of absence or lack of a specific object or quality.
It is not simply the feeling of the absence of something concrete but transcends a broader
understanding of negation and its limitations to human existence. Because for Sartre, human
consciousness is characterized by intentionality– which means that consciousness is always
directed towards an object or phenomena. However, this intentionality also presents the
inherent recognition of what is absent or lacking in the human being's life and through this
recognition of nothingness, its consciousness is aware of what it lacks, leading to a sense of
incompleteness and distress.

Subtopic 2: Negation and its Origin

According to Sartre, the origin of negation lies in the inherent freedom and
intentionality of our consciousness. It develops when our consciousness can recognize the
absence or lack of something in our current reality. For instance, if a person desires a
particular object, and that object is not present, their consciousness can create a sense of
absence that is experienced as a form of negation. However, Sartre argued that this negation
is not a mere absence but an active force that shapes the person's experience and perception
of reality. As a result, this allows the individual to be able to envision and create possibilities
that do not exist in their current reality.

Subtopic 3: Freedom, Anguish, and Bad Faith

According to Sartre, human beings are inherently free, and this freedom is the basis for
our existence because any external forces, like social and cultural norms, biological
inclinations, etc., do not influence human beings. They have the power to transcend these
factors and create their own meaning and purpose in life. However, Sartre argued that our
freedom makes us responsible for our own actions, which means that we must take
responsibility for the consequences of our choices, even if those consequences are negative.

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This is where anguish arises. Anguish is the feeling of uncertainty and anxiety that comes
with recognizing that our decisions and choices in life have real consequences for ourselves
and others. And since freedom can be frightening to confront, we may attempt to deny our
own freedom by adopting to social or cultural roles that provide us with a sense of security
and stability but ultimately limit our potential for self-growth. This is what bad faith is. It is
characterized by the denial of our freedom and responsibility and accepting external forces as
the source of our actions and choices.

Main Topic 4 : Comparison of Sartrean and Heideggerian Existential

Assigned Reporter: Jobert Brian F. Domingo and Carl James C. Lanang

The way Sartre and Heidegger handle the idea of existence itself is one of the main
distinctions between their existential phenomenology. Heidegger believed that existence was
essentially related to time and temporality and that people exist within a specific historical
and cultural environment that influences how they perceive the world. Sartre, on the other
hand, emphasised more on freedom and accountability of every individual and saw life as a
process of continuously forming one's own identity and values through acts of choice.

Subtopic 1: Existential Phenomenology - Jobert F. Domingo

A Philosophical methodology which aims to comprehend the essence of human

existence by conducting a comprehensive examination of authentic human experiences so-
called Existential Phenomenology. Phenomenology itself has this concept which places
significant emphasis on the subjective experiences of Human beings, including their distinct
perspectives and ways of existing in the world.

Subtopic 2: Sartre Concept of Existential Phenomenology - Jobert F. Domingo

Sartre have this own distinct concepts and modifications on his existential
phenomenology which these ideas were inclined from both Husserl and Heidegger, there is a
lot critique regards to the concepts of his predecessors, such as the Problem of Nothingness,
the objection to the nature of the ontological relation between self and other, the relationship
between the self and the Other in the context of intersubjective existence which I do believe
so that Sartre critique Hegel and Heidegger and etc. But mainly Sartre wants to emphasise

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the importance of subjective experience and the tension between being-in-itself and being-
for-itself, as well as the freedom to make choices and actions determined by external factors.

Subtopic 3: Heidegger Concept of Existential Phenomenology - Carl C. Lanang

Heidegger's existential phenomenology seeks to answer the issue of how a subject

grasps and comprehends the objective existence of objects. It implies that items having
objective existence should be regarded as real-existence unities and appearance possibilities.
This point of view opposes traditional dualisms and stresses the importance of appearance in
understanding the essence of objects. It does, however, raise concerns about the link between
individual appearances and the endless succession of appearances, emphasizing potential
difficulties in fully reconciling the classical dualities.

References

Catalano, Joseph. A Commentary on Jean-Paul Sartre's Being and Nothingness. London: The
University Chicago Press, 1985.
Gardner, Sebastian. Sartre’s Being and Nothingness: A Reader’s Guide. London: Continuum,
2009.
Onof, Christian J. “Jean Paul Sartre: Existentialism.” Internet Encyclopaedia of Philosophy.
Accessed May 17, 2023. https://iep.utm.edu/sartre-ex/.
Sartre, Jean-Paul. Being and Nothingness: An Essay on Phenomenological Ontology.
Translated by Hazel E. Barnes. Paris: Editions Gallimard, 1943.
Smith, David Woodruff. "Phenomenology." In The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
(Summer 2018 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.).
https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/phenomenology/

Contribution Report

Name Role and Contribution to the Group Output

De Guzman, John Carlos D.R ● Will report Sartre’s view of Consciousness (pre-reflective,
reflective, and self-reflective consciousness).
● Provide lectures and input visual aids in powerpoint
presentation.
● Provides Primary and Secondary sources and shares
ideas/concepts during group meetings.
● Asked important questions related to understanding Sartre
and plans to present him.

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 Domingo, Jobert Brian F.
Evangelista, Marithe J.
Lanang, Carl James C.
Villaflores, Tricia M.
May 8, 2023 - Held discussion about how to find the key concepts of Sartre, which sources to
look at, and set the schedule for the next meeting. Group members made a consensus on
which topic they wanted to present.
● Will report Comparison of Sartrean and Heideggerian
Existential Phenomenology (mainly on Sartre).
● Provides lectures and input visual aids in powerpoint
presentation.
● Shared/recommended secondary sources important to
understanding Sartre.
● Asked important questions related to understanding Sartre
and plans to present him.
● Will report The Problem of Nothingness and subtopics
(What is nothingness, Negation and its origin, Freedom,
Anguish and Bad Faith).
● Provide Lectures and input visual aids in powerpoint
presentation.
● Shares ideas/concepts during group meetings.
● Asked important questions related to understanding Sartre
and plans to present him.
● Will report in the topic outline of Comparison of Sartrean
and Heideggerian Existential Phenomenology (mainly on
Heidegger).
● Provide lectures and input visual aids in powerpoint
presentation.
● Shares his ideas/input of his topic virtually.
● Will discuss his own part during the report.
● Will report Sartre’s Critique of Descartes and Husserl in
the Introduction - The Pursuit of Being.
● Provide lectures and input visual aids in powerpoint
presentation.
● Shares ideas/concepts during group meetings.
● Asked important questions related to understanding Sartre
and plans to present him.
Documentation
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May 17, 2023 - Group members talked about their status on understanding Sartre. The
structure of the Written Outline is discussed particularly of the right main and subtopics to be
presented in class. Matters regarding finalising the written report, powerpoint presentation,
and presentation rehearsal are also brought into the table at the end of the meeting.