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Definition of pour-soi in English:

pour-soi

noun

Philosophy

  • In existentialism: the spontaneous, free being of consciousness; being for-itself. Opposed to en soi, being-in-itself.

Pronunciation

pour-soi

/pʊəˈswɑː/ /pɔːˈswɑː/

Origin

1940s; earliest use found in Journal of Philosophy. From French pour-soi knowledge of the concious being of itself, human being conscious of itself from pour for + soi oneself, itself, originally after German Fürsichsein.