The for-itself constitutes itself through an original negation of the thing

Evidence

The thing, before all comparison, before all construction, is that which is present to consciousness as not being consciousness. The original relation of presence as the foundation of knowledge is negative. But as negation comes to the world by means of the for-itself, and as the thing is what it is in the absolute indifference of identity, it can not be the thing which is posited as not being the for-itself. Negation comes from the for-itself. We should not conceive this negation as a type of judgment which would bear on the thing itself and deny concerning it that it is the for-itself; this type of negation could be conceived only if the for-itself were a substance already fully formed, and even in that case it could emanate only as a third being establishing from outside a negative relation between two beings. But by the original negation the for-itself constitutes itself as not being the thing. — Jean-Paul Sartre, Being and Nothingness, 571

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines presence-to and the original negative relation that grounds knowledge — the core move distinguishing for-itself from in-itself.
• XREF: Directly sets up Beauvoir’s appropriation of Sartrean freedom and the for-itself’s negating structure. — connects to: The for-itself is defined as an internal negation of the in-itself, bridged through knowledge — Jean-Paul Sartre, Being and Nothingness: An Essay on…, 37; The For-itself is a particular privation, not a general Nothingness.; The For-itself has only marginal, borrowed being derived from what it nihilates. — Jean-Paul Sartre, Being and Nothingness: An Essay on…, 48 (+31 more)

Broader Connections

• The For-itself becomes itself by negating the Other. #corroborates (0.95) — Jean-Paul Sartre, Being and Nothingness, 775
• The For-itself adds nothing to being except its own negation #expands (0.92) — Jean-Paul Sartre, Being and Nothingness, 652
• The For-itself is not a substance but the nihilation of a particular In-itself #expands (0.90) — Jean-Paul Sartre, Being and Nothingness, 1432