SKETCH FOR A PHENOMENOLOGY OF CONSCIOUSNESS IN JEAN-PAUL SARTRE’S “BEING AND NOTHINGNESS”

Abstract

Phenomenology seeks to trace back to the origins of things in themselves, prior to human consciousness in experience. Edmund Husserl is regarded as the father of phenomenology, aiming to establish it as a rigorous philosophy. According to Husserl, phenomenology is not merely a philosophical movement; it is fundamentally a philosophical method, a particular attitude of thinking. As a method, phenomenology has become the foundation upon which existentialism relies, enabling it to reveal the existential structure inherent in humans. This article outlines the fundamental ideas of J-P. Sartre in his work “Being and Nothingness,” focusing on properties of consciousness such as intentionality, pre-reflective and reflective consciousness, as well as characteristics like emptiness, negation, projection, and freedom. Through his engagement with phenomenology, Jean-Paul Sartre uncovered the deepest dimensions of consciousness that had previously gone unnoticed.