Deepanshu Sainee
Research Scholar, Department of Philosophy, University of Delhi, Delhi, India
E-mail: dps080799@gmail.com
Issue: Volume 2 No. 2 (June 2026) Anubodhan
Received: 27 June 2026 / Accepted: 30 June 2026 / Published: 30 June 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.65885/anubodhan.v2n2.2026.081
Abstract
This paper presents a rigorous comparative and critical analysis of the egological structures within the phenomenological frameworks of Edmund Husserl and Jean-Paul Sartre. It systematically evaluates Husserl’s formulation of the “Pure Ego” as an absolute transcendental necessity isolated via the method of the epoché, and contrasts it directly with Sartre’s radical non-egological elimination of the internal subject, which repositions the ego as a “Transcendent Ego” existing entirely in the world. This paper also examines the transition from Husserl’s transcendental egology to Sartre’s radical defense of a purified, non-egological consciousness. By analyzing the arguments of Husserl and Sartre alongside key commentators, this study discerns the core philosophical disputes regarding the unity, temporal continuity, and freedom of the human subject. The paper argues that while Husserl deemed the pure ego necessary to secure a rigorous foundation for transcendental science, Sartre demonstrated that the temporal, transversal structure of consciousness is capable of unifying and individuating itself from within. When integrated with the facticity of the lived body and the teleological trajectory of the fundamental project, Sartre’s non-egological model accounts for personal identity without relying on a substantial spiritual substrate.
Keywords: Pure Ego, Transcendental Ego, Transcendent Ego, Intentionality, Non-Egological Consciousness, Phenomenology.
How to cite: Sainee, D. (2026). Consciousness without an Ego? Sartre’s Challenge to Husserlian Phenomenology. Anubodhan, 2(2), 211–217. https://doi.org/10.65885/anubodhan.v2n2.2026.081