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Recommended: Understanding self

In society, people define their purpose and life with their accomplishments, things they own, their career and many more. The most significant, however, lies in the relationships they create with the various people they meet. Whether it is family, friends, boyfriends, or girlfriends, they all play an important role. Jean-Paul Sartre, a prominent philosopher, calls these relationships being-with-others. According to him, the concept of being-of-others rests in the character of conflict. He states that relationships are defined by the other person’s perspective and views on us, which he calls “the look,” rather than an actual attraction. This leads us to experience some type of emotional alienation because we begin to identify ourselves with “the look” of the other people. Ultimately, this alienation is what creates the conflict; the others now possess some type of view of us and identify us as an object for their consciousness. This begins to take away our freedom (of ourselves). We then respond by doing the same and turning them into objects for our consciousness and taking away their “freedom” to gain ours back. Ultimately, throughout the relationship, we constantly attempt to find confirmation of what ourselves wish to be. Even the harmonious relationship of love cannot be fully attained, according to the ideologies of Sartre. Although his ideas seem to view the others existence in a negative way, one that always causes some sort of conflict, there are times when we seek these relationships and objectifications for our own gratification. For example, he implies that we discover some sort of self-identity through “the look.” I believe that a significant part of life is seeking a purpose, and the existence of the others can pro...

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.... This conflict arises from a complex cycle between subjectivity, objectivity and a need to keep our freedom and transcendence. Even love can never be fully attained because of these conflicts. Although Sartre presents a overly pessimistic view of relationships and implies that the only characterization is conflict, I believe that being-with-others and the objectification that comes with it can actually be desirable. We constantly seek a purpose in our life, a sense of identity. The others can provide us with a foundation of our identity that we are free to interpret (if at all) in our own way. Through this, we can start to develop a sense of self and ultimately find gratification in life. All in all, Sartre is right about people tending to objectify each other. However, these objectifications are not always characterized by conflict. They can be desirable as well.

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