Possibilization

Possibilization names the free act through which consciousness constitutes an action as performable or an attitude as assumable. It is not merely the recognition of an abstract possibility: it is the opening of a concrete course of action within a world, through which the For-itself projects itself and makes itself by choosing among its possibles.

Definition and Operation

Possibilization concerns an act of consciousness that presents a course of action as capable of being performed, or an attitude as capable of being assumed. The term therefore describes more than identifying what might happen. It marks the constituting act by which an option becomes available as something the agent can do or take up.

Concrete Possibles and Choice

Sartre generally prefers the noun “possible” to the more abstract “possibility.” A possible is a concrete action to be performed in a concrete world, rather than a general idea detached from circumstances. Possibilization is bound to this practical orientation: consciousness does not simply contemplate a field of options but makes its possibles as choices toward which it can project itself.

Self-Formation Through Projection

The For-itself makes itself by choosing its possibles and projecting itself toward those it prefers. Possibilization thus belongs to the ongoing formation of the self: preferred actions and attitudes give direction to projection, while the act of choosing them is part of what the For-itself becomes. Possibility here carries the weight of freedom in action, not the status of a ready-made menu of abstract alternatives.