Quality is constituted by the for-itself’s negating acts, not given in things

Evidence

It is the for-itself which can deny itself from various points of view when confronting the this and which reveals the quality as a new this on the ground of the thing. For each negating act by which the freedom of the For-itself spontaneously constitutes its being, there is a corresponding total revelation of being “in profile.” This profile is nothing but a relation of the thing to the For-itself, a relation realized by the For-itself. — Jean-Paul Sartre, Being and Nothingness, 597

Categorization

• DEFINE: Explains how the undifferentiated ‘this’ splits into distinct qualities: through the for-itself’s various self-negations.
• XREF: connects to: Quality reveals being only to a nothingness that negates it; A quality’s being is radically distinct from the for-itself’s mode; The For-itself is responsible for how it apprehends qualities of things — Jean-Paul Sartre, Being and Nothingness: An Essay on…, 598 (+4 more)

Broader Connections

• The for-itself constitutes itself through an original negation of the thing #corroborates (0.90) — Jean-Paul Sartre, Being and Nothingness, 571
• A quality’s being is radically distinct from the for-itself’s mode #expands (0.85)
• The For-itself is not a substance but the nihilation of a particular In-itself #expands (0.85) — Jean-Paul Sartre, Being and Nothingness, 1432
• The For-itself adds nothing to being except its own negation #corroborates (0.85) — Jean-Paul Sartre, Being and Nothingness, 652
• The For-itself is responsible for how it apprehends qualities of things #expands (0.80) — Jean-Paul Sartre, Being and Nothingness, 598
• Value arises from the for-itself’s constitutive lack #expands (0.80) — Jean-Paul Sartre, Being and Nothingness, 1445