Manness is not an essence but something each for-itself freely sustains
Evidence
As a for-itself one is not man first in order to be oneself subsequently and one does not constitute oneself as oneself in terms of a human essence given a priori. Quite the contrary, it is in its effort to choose itself as a personal self that the for-itself sustains in existence certain social and abstract characteristics which make of it a man (or a woman); and the necessary connections which accompany the essential elements of man appear only on the foundation of a free choice; in this sense each for-itself is responsible in its being for the existence of a human race. … But it is necessary for us again to stress the undeniable fact that the for-itself can choose itself only beyond certain meanings of which it is not the origin. Each for-itself, in fact, is a for-itself only by choosing itself beyond nationality and race just as it speaks only by choosing the designation beyond the syntax and morphemes. — Jean-Paul Sartre, Being and Nothingness, 1224
Categorization
- DEFINE: Clarifies that ‘man’ is not an a priori essence but a social characteristic upheld by each free choice, making each for-itself responsible for the existence of the human race.
- XREF: Direct antecedent to Beauvoir’s argument in The Second Sex that one is not born but becomes a woman; also echoes existentialist commitment that existence precedes essence. — connects to: Consciousness freely chooses itself as not being the Other. — Jean-Paul Sartre, Being and Nothingness: An Essay on…, 775; Essence is one’s accumulated past, made by living rather than predetermined.; Consciousness sustains its own being rather than being sustained by it. — Jean-Paul Sartre, Being and Nothingness: An Essay on…, 304 (+3 more)
Broader Connections
- Consciousness freely chooses itself as not being the Other.
#corroborates(0.90) — Jean-Paul Sartre, Being and Nothingness, 775 - Consciousness sustains its own being rather than being sustained by it.
#corroborates(0.85) — Jean-Paul Sartre, Being and Nothingness, 304 - For consciousness, existence precedes and grounds any essence
#expands(0.85) — Jean-Paul Sartre, Being and Nothingness, 137 - Freedom precedes essence and is indistinguishable from being human
#corroborates(0.80) — Jean-Paul Sartre, Being and Nothingness, 226 - Freedom requires choosing one’s own essence, not merely one’s acts
#expands(0.80) — Jean-Paul Sartre, Being and Nothingness, 1126 - Essence is one’s accumulated past, made by living rather than predetermined.
#expands(0.78)