Single Idea 7116

[catalogued under 16. Persons / C. Self-Awareness / 3. Limits of Introspection]

Full Idea

There is no 'I' on the unreflected level. When I run after a tram, ...there is no I. There is a consciousness of the tram-needing-to-be-caught, and a non-positional consciousness of consciousness.

Gist of Idea

When we are unreflective (as when chasing a tram) there is no 'I'

Source

Jean-Paul Sartre (Transcendence of the Ego [1937], I (B))

Book Reference

Sartre,Jean-Paul: 'The Transcendence of the Ego' [Routledge 2004], p.13


A Reaction

Russell (Idea 5380) says exactly the opposite. My sympathies are more with Russell. I don't just focus on the tram, I focus on the relation between myself and the tram, and that includes my need to catch it, as well as my body.

Related Ideas

Idea 5380 In perceiving the sun, I am aware of sun sense-data, and of the perceiver of the data [Russell]

Idea 20074 We can keep Davidson's account of intentions in action, by further explaining prior intentions [Davidson, by Stout,R]