From In-Itself to Practico-Inert: Freedom, Subjectivity, and Progress

This article focuses on Sartre’s concept of the practico-inert in his major work A  Critique of Dialectical Reason, Vol. 1  ( CDR ). I first show the progression from Sartre’s previous conception of in-itself to his concept of practico-inert. I identify five different layers of the practico-inert: human-made objects, language, ideas, social objects and class being. I show how these practico-inert layers form the possibilities for our subjectivity and how this represents a change from Sartre’s view of in-itself in  Being and Nothingness . I then explore the relationship of freedom to the practico-inert and how Sartre argues that the practico-inert places limits on our freedom. Lastly, I argue that despite the pessimistic picture Sartre paints in  CDR , the practico-inert has the potential to both limit and enhance our freedom. I appeal to Sartre’s post- CDR  essay ‘A Plea for Intellectuals’ to argue that a Sartrean account of progress requires the utilisation of the practico-inert.