Have you ever been walking around minding your own business? Maybe you’re walking to your office, your classroom, your house, the store, or some other destination. You’re looking at the ground or you’re looking to the side noticing the world around you. Then you look slightly to the left and someone else is walking the opposite direction. And they are looking at you.
This isn’t someone you know. They aren’t smiling or frowning at you. They have a fairly neutral face. Their eyes are just fixated on you for those passing seconds. It’s not enough to count as a stare. You aren’t exactly worried about them watching you after you walk past by them, and you’re not worried how long they have been watching you.
Time is fleeting and you are not sure how to react, but you feel as if you should. Do you wave hello? Do you nod? Do you look the other way? Do you smile or frown? Do you raise or lower your eyebrows? There are too many options. But this person is just looking at you. They surely aren’t reacting. You begin to wonder if they are thinking about you.
Then why should you care? Maybe you shouldn’t, but the look they give you affects you. It isn’t pleasant nor unpleasant, but it is bizarre. Are you someone else to them or something else? Should you feel in danger or not? What is going on here?
They pass you and absolutely nothing results from that. You’ll never see them again. And that’s that. The look they gave you made you look at yourself. How about that? Sartre analyzes this in depth in “The Look”. He emphasizes that the look makes you seen in the most concrete sense. You are vulnerable and without an escape. Such a profound, objectifying–yet human–experience comes from the gaze of another.
You continue walking and almost arrive at your destination. You turn a corner and you look up, and someone else is there. This time…you look at them.
