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The Ethics of Being for Others

Being and Nothingness

This thematic thread follows the difficulty of respecting another person's freedom when every relation also objectifies and limits it.

increasingupBearing stren­gth in each eventdowndecreasing
Recognition and ConflictRecognition and Conflict from "Being and Nothingness". Recognition and Conflict Mutual Projects Each person seeks to secure being through the Other while resisting the Other's power to define it.
Recognition and Conflict Mutual Projects Each person seeks to secure being through the Other while resisting the Other's power to define it. Their projects meet in conflict. Ethical Problem The relation is not a neutral exchange between subjects. Each person's freedom changes the other's situation.
Respect as ForceRespect as Force from "Being and Nothingness". Respect as Force Good Intentions Comfort, education, and tolerance may seem to preserve another's freedom.
Respect as Force Good Intentions Comfort, education, and tolerance may seem to preserve another's freedom. Yet each act still organizes the Other within the agent's project. Contradiction Even an effort to free another can treat that person as an object to be changed.
The Limits of NoninterferenceThe Limits of Noninterference from "Being and Nothingness". The Limits of Noninterference No Neutral Stance Abstention and tolerance also establish a relation and can shape what the Other is able to do.
The Limits of Noninterference No Neutral Stance Abstention and tolerance also establish a relation and can shape what the Other is able to do. There is no view from outside the encounter. Responsibility The person remains responsible for the way a project limits or enables another freedom.
Guilt Before the OtherGuilt Before the Other from "Being and Nothingness". Guilt Before the Other Reciprocal Objectification The self becomes an object under the Other's gaze and in turn makes the Other an object.
Guilt Before the Other Reciprocal Objectification The self becomes an object under the Other's gaze and in turn makes the Other an object. Each act reproduces alienation. No Innocent Position Guilt arises from entering a shared world in which each freedom affects the other's being.
An Ethics Beyond OntologyAn Ethics Beyond Ontology from "Being and Nothingness". An Ethics Beyond Ontology Description Is Not a Rule Ontology explains the structures of freedom and value but cannot derive moral imperatives from them.
An Ethics Beyond Ontology Description Is Not a Rule Ontology explains the structures of freedom and value but cannot derive moral imperatives from them. Ethical judgment requires another inquiry. Open Task A future ethics must confront the responsibility that remains even when no relation can avoid conflict.
Part Three, Chapter Three, opening
Part Three, Chapter Three, discussion of tolerance
Part Three, Chapter Three, concluding ethical reflections
Part Three, Chapter Three, discussion of guilt
Conclusion, Section II