Philosophy 152 Philosophy of Human Nature Darwall Fall 1996 SARTRE II I Another way of thinking our way into existentialism is to think about what it is to be a subject. Think of this in terms of the difference between subjective and objective pronouns. What is the difference? What explains it? A. Take the pronoun 'I'. What does it refer to? Sartre discusses Descartes' idea of the cogito. "Cogito, ergu sum," Descartes wrote in the Meditations. What lies behind this thought? Descartes was wondering what he could not doubt. He convinced himself that he could not doubt that he existed because doubting was itself thinking, so he must exist as a "thinking thing". I think, therefore I exist. We exist as thinking subjects. B. We might think of the existentialist as taking something like a Cartesian attitude toward practice. When we are thinking about what to do, we can put in question the value of anything. The one thing we cannot put in question is that we are choosing, acting subjects. Existentialism, therefore, is where we end up when we fully appreciate our "radical subjectivity" II Sartre holds that in this we realize a kind of dignity that we have. "[T]his theory is the only which gives man dignity . . . as well." Sidebar: Think about the implications of this in terms of treating others as subjects or objects. What might it mean to "objectify" someone. What is it to treat someone as a subject? III A related point: our subjectivity involves self-consciousness. We have "being for ourselves." So what we are to be is an issue for us. At each moment we are choosing whom to be. And so we make ourselves by our choices. Our existence as practical subjects, as choosing beings "precedes our essence." (See, p. 322, 320, 315) IV But, again, we are not choosing something for ourselves, Sartre thinks. We are implicitly choosing an "image of man". And this fills us with a dread and anguish that we attempt to evade by various denials, evasions, "double dealing", internal and external public relations, and "bad faith." Cf. p. 316: "what is meant by anguish . . ." p. 317: "at every moment I'm obliged to perform exemplary acts . . ."