Brewer's: Ego

and Non-Ego. “Ego” means I myself; “Non-ego” means the objective world. They are terms used by Fichté (1762-1814) to explain his Idealism. According to this philosopher, the Ego posits or embraces the Non-ego. Take an example: A tree is an object out of my personality, and therefore a part of the Non-ego. I see a tree; the tree of my brain is a subjective tree, the tree itself is an objective tree. Before I can see it, the objective tree and the subjective tree must be like the two clocks of a telegraphic apparatus; the sender and reader must be in connection, the reader must “posit,” or take in the message sent. The message, or non-ego, must be engrafted into the ego. Applying this rule generally, all objects known, seen, heard, etc., by me become part of me, or the ego posits the non-ego by subjective objectivity.

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