DE Weekly: Sartre, Being-for-Others, & the Invisible Guest Theory
Every now and then, interesting conversations arise on social media, allowing for philosophical perspectives to interject and offer insight into the topic. I came across just such a conversation this past week when I saw people discussing the “Invisible Guest Theory.” As I tend to do, I immediately thought about how existential philosophy applies to this theory.
The Invisible Guest Theory suggests that people in social situations, such as a party, are too preoccupied with themselves and their own insecurities to pay any attention to anyone else; in effect, they are thinking entirely of themselves and have no time or attention to focus on or judge you.
DE Weekly: The Look, the Self, & the Other
In existentialism, consciousness is the key to understanding human existence. When discussing conscious beings––namely, humans––it helps to distinguish between two types of conscious beings: the Self and the Other.
In last week’s newsletter, I wrote about Jean-Paul Sartre’s concept of “Being-for-others”, and how this can open us up to accept that we need to include others in our search for meaning. In short, a meaningful life must consider and include other people. It can’t be egocentric.