prereflective-cogito
The immediate, non-thetic self-awareness that consciousness has of itself prior to any reflective or explicit self-reference.
1 chapter across 1 book
Being and Nothingness (1943)Jean-Paul Sartre
This chapter explores the fundamental structures of consciousness, particularly the nature of the for-itself (consciousness) as distinct from the in-itself (being). Sartre critiques previous philosophers like Descartes, Husserl, and Heidegger for their limitations in addressing consciousness and emphasizes the prereflective cogito as the starting point for understanding consciousness's self-presence. He articulates consciousness as inherently non-coincident with itself, characterized by a duality where consciousness is always consciousness of itself, creating a dynamic tension between identity and difference that cannot be reduced to infinite regress or pure unity.