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 nonego, 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.