Absence is not given by objects but posited by a consciousness that negates

Evidence

The outline of a presence-to-itself as that which is lacking to the for-itself is what constitutes the being of the for-itself as the foundation of its own nothingness. The possible is an absence constitutive of consciousness in so far as consciousness itself makes itself. Thirst—for example—is never sufficiently thirst inasmuch as it makes itself thirst; it is haunted by the presence of the Self of Thirst-itself. But in so far as it is haunted by this concrete value, it puts itself in question in its being as lacking a certain For-itself which would realize it as satisfied thirst and which would confer on it being-in-itself. This lacking For-itself is the Possible. — Jean-Paul Sartre, Being and Nothingness, 385 (#expands, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: For idealism the object’s objective being is constituted by absence, not plenitude — Jean-Paul Sartre, Being and Nothingness: An Essay on…, 149; The possible is a lack constitutive of consciousness itself — Jean-Paul Sartre, Being and Nothingness: An Essay on…, 385; Representation makes the absent present through a fundamental paradox (+12 more)

Broader Connections

• The possible is a lack constitutive of consciousness itself #expands (0.85) — Jean-Paul Sartre, Being and Nothingness, 385
• Nothingness is a supported recoil from Being that enables consciousness to exist #expands (0.80)
• Representation makes the absent present through a fundamental paradox #expands (0.75)