For-itself

In Sartrean existentialism, the For-itself (pour-soi) is the mode of being of consciousness, characterized by negation, lack, and process rather than fixed substance. Unlike the In-itself (Being as plenitude), the For-itself has only borrowed being derived through what it negates or nihilates, defining itself by what it is not.

Claims that use this term

• The For-itself is a particular privation, not a general Nothingness.
• The For-itself has only marginal, borrowed being derived from what it nihilates.
• The For-itself derives all its powers precisely from not being Being
• The For-itself is process rather than entity
• The For-itself becomes itself by negating the Other.
• The For-itself is not a substance but the nihilation of a particular In-itself