The Meaning of a Choice

Being and Nothingness

This thematic thread follows how free choice establishes ends, interprets motives, and makes a life intelligible without reducing it to a fixed essence.

increasing

Bearing strength in each event

decreasing

Choice Before Explanation Choice Before Explanation from "Being and Nothingness". Choice Before Explanation No Given Nature A person's action cannot be fully explained by traits or states treated as things.

Choice Before Explanation from "Being and Nothingness". Choice Before Explanation No Given Nature A person's action cannot be fully explained by traits or states treated as things.

Choice Before Explanation No Given Nature A person's action cannot be fully explained by traits or states treated as things. The person exists through choices that define a way of being. Project A choice is a project toward an end, not a decision added to an already completed self.

The End Illuminates the Past The End Illuminates the Past from "Being and Nothingness". The End Illuminates the Past Regressive Meaning A future end gives present motives and past circumstances their significance.

The End Illuminates the Past from "Being and Nothingness". The End Illuminates the Past Regressive Meaning A future end gives present motives and past circumstances their significance.

The End Illuminates the Past Regressive Meaning A future end gives present motives and past circumstances their significance. What matters is determined by what the agent is trying to become. No Determinism This does not erase facts. It explains why facts can serve as causes or motives only within a project.

Choosing Means Choosing Means from "Being and Nothingness". Choosing Means Reflection Deliberation evaluates ways to reach an end already posited by the for-itself.

Choosing Means from "Being and Nothingness". Choosing Means Reflection Deliberation evaluates ways to reach an end already posited by the for-itself.

Choosing Means Reflection Deliberation evaluates ways to reach an end already posited by the for-itself. It clarifies means but does not create the ultimate project. Will The will is a reflective mode of freedom, not a separate power capable of escaping the person's being.

A Project in Situation A Project in Situation from "Being and Nothingness". A Project in Situation Concrete Ends Freedom does not choose abstractly from nowhere.

A Project in Situation from "Being and Nothingness". A Project in Situation Concrete Ends Freedom does not choose abstractly from nowhere.

A Project in Situation Concrete Ends Freedom does not choose abstractly from nowhere. It chooses within a place, body, past, environment, and relation to others. Responsibility The situation shapes the available meanings, but the person remains responsible for the project that makes them relevant.

The Choice Continues The Choice Continues from "Being and Nothingness". The Choice Continues No Settled Identity The person cannot rely on an earlier choice as a possession that acts on later moments.

The Choice Continues from "Being and Nothingness". The Choice Continues No Settled Identity The person cannot rely on an earlier choice as a possession that acts on later moments.

The Choice Continues No Settled Identity The person cannot rely on an earlier choice as a possession that acts on later moments. Freedom must continually recover its project. Human Destiny A life is the ongoing interpretation and renewal of a choice, not the unfolding of a predetermined essence.

Part Four, Chapter One, opening discussion

Part Four, Chapter One, discussion of ends

Part Four, Chapter One, discussion of deliberation

Part Four, Chapter One, discussion of situation

Part Four, Chapter One, conclusion