The for-itself’s presence creates the very distinction between this and that

Evidence

To what being is the for-itself presence? Let us note immediately that the question is badly phrased. Being is what it is; it can not possess in itself the determination “this one” to answer the question “which?” In short the question has meaning only if it is posited in a world. Consequently the for-itself can not be present to this being rather than to that since it is the presence of the for-itself which causes the existence of a “this” rather than a “that.” — Jean-Paul Sartre, Being and Nothingness, 584

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines presence as ontologically prior to individuation — the for-itself doesn’t pick out a ‘this’ that pre-exists; it causes ‘thisness’ to arise.
• XREF: Connects to the systematic backdrop for Beauvoir’s Ethics of Ambiguity, where the for-itself’s priority in constituting objects grounds the stakes of freedom. — connects to: The in-itself and for-itself are two radically separated regions of being; The For-itself is not a substance but the nihilation of a particular In-itself — Jean-Paul Sartre, Being and Nothingness: An Essay on…, 1432; The For-itself’s being consists in internal negation rather than self-coincidence — Jean-Paul Sartre, Being and Nothingness: An Essay on…, 445 (+5 more)

Broader Connections

• Presence to being defines the For-itself’s fundamental ontological structure #expands (0.90) — Jean-Paul Sartre, Being and Nothingness, 440
• The for-itself constitutes itself through an original negation of the thing #expands (0.85) — Jean-Paul Sartre, Being and Nothingness, 571
• The For-itself is responsible for how it apprehends qualities of things #expands (0.85) — Jean-Paul Sartre, Being and Nothingness, 598
• The For-itself is not a substance but the nihilation of a particular In-itself #expands (0.82) — Jean-Paul Sartre, Being and Nothingness, 1432
• The For-itself’s being consists in internal negation rather than self-coincidence #expands (0.80) — Jean-Paul Sartre, Being and Nothingness, 445
• The for-itself is simultaneously nihilation and, via the Other, a thing #expands (0.78) — Jean-Paul Sartre, Being and Nothingness, 1046