"as such" vs "per se"
Hello everyone,
Could someone please tell me the difference between "as such" and "per se"?

1. I didn't object to flextime as such. I just wanted to ensure job continuity.
2. I didn't object to flextime per se. I just wanted to ensure job continuity.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Nanako

Question

"as such" vs "per se"
Hello everyone,
Could someone please tell me the difference between "as such" and "per se"?

1. I didn't object to flextime as such. I just wanted to ensure job continuity.
2. I didn't object to flextime per se. I just wanted to ensure job continuity.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Nanako

Answer

To me, the two sentences have the same meaning.

From dictionary.com:

per se:  by, of, for, or in itself; intrinsically

as such:  in itself or in themselves

Answer

As such sounds a bit awkward in the above sentence. I think it typically is used to mean 'in its current form' or 'without making changes' but 'as is' works better to communicate that.

Per se is more like saying 'as a concept' or 'in theory' so you don't object to flextime in theory, but want to make sure you will have job continuity.