Webber, Jonathan Mark;
(1997)
Sartre on self-awareness: Pre-reflective and reflective self-consciousness in the early works of Jean-Paul Sartre.
Masters thesis (M.Phil), UCL (University College London).
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Abstract
This thesis investigates Sartre's theories concerning the nature and extent of one's awareness of one's own consciousnesses, as those theories are expounded in Sartre's philosophical publications of the 1930s and 1940s. Exegetically, the thesis aims to clarify those theories and to expose Sartre's reasons for holding them. Philosophically, the thesis aims to assess those theories against the backdrop of the philosophical debate over self-awareness and to discover whether Sartre has a distinctive and valuable contribution to make to that debate. The thesis is divided into three parts. The Introduction is primarily exegetical, clarifying the terminology Sartre employs in the theories under discussion. Chapter 1 is concerned with the awareness Sartre claims we have of our current consciousnesses. Chapter 2 is concerned with the awareness Sartre claims we can have of previous consciousnesses. In each chapter, the view under consideration, and Sartre's reasons for holding it, are exposed and assessed in the light of empirical examples, theoretical considerations, and the main rival theories. Sartre's views are discussed in with reference to such influences on his thought as Descartes, Freud, Husserl, and Heidegger, and such contemporary thinkers as Armstrong, the Churchlands, Dennett, and Searle. Exegetical controversies are discussed with reference to much secondary literature concerned with Sartre's philosophy. Overall, it is found that Sartre offers a distinctive and coherent account of self-awareness. In chapter 1, it is found that although Sartre has shown that we are (to some degree) aware of much of our current mental lives, he has not shown that we are aware of the whole of our mental lives. In chapter 2, it is found that Sartre's theory that reflection is sometimes reliable cannot be verified or falsified, but that despite this it is no worse off than other theories of the reliability of reflection.
| Type: | Thesis (Masters) |
|---|---|
| Qualification: | M.Phil |
| Title: | Sartre on self-awareness: Pre-reflective and reflective self-consciousness in the early works of Jean-Paul Sartre |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Thesis digitised by ProQuest. |
| Keywords: | Philosophy, religion and theology |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10106159 |
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