Exploring Sartre's Concept Of Bad Faith And Personal Experiences

In his works, Jean-Paul Sartre describes bad faith as a denial of one's innate freedom and responsibility, a form of self-deception where one's actions and choices are driven by external influences and societal expectations rather than their authentic self. This concept is central to Sartre's philosophy of existentialism, which asserts that human beings possess radical freedom and are therefore fully responsible for their actions, projects, and decisions. Bad faith, according to Sartre, arises from the attempt to escape this inherent freedom and the accompanying burden of responsibility. It involves a dissociation from one's true self, where individuals adopt social roles and value systems that are external to their nature, thus denying their capacity for transcendence and authentic self-definition.

Bad faith is a denial of our essential freedom

In the philosophy of Jean-Paul Sartre, bad faith is a denial of our essential freedom. It is a state of self-deception, where individuals act inauthentically, choosing to adopt false values and disown their innate freedom as conscious beings.

Sartre's notion of bad faith is rooted in his belief that human consciousness is defined by its capacity to transcend its current situation and immediate circumstances. This transcendence, or 'surpassing', is what Sartre identifies as freedom. He argues that human beings are fundamentally free and responsible for their actions, projects, and decisions, and are constantly engaged in the process of making and remaking themselves.

However, the burden of absolute freedom and responsibility can be overwhelming, leading to a constant state of anguish. Bad faith arises as an attempt to escape this anguish by denying our freedom. It is a paradoxical decision, where we use our freedom to deny our freedom, choosing to conform to external pressures and social roles rather than acknowledging our ability to choose and our responsibility for those choices.

Sartre provides several examples to illustrate bad faith, including a café waiter who exaggerates the mannerisms of a waiter, play-acting as if he were an object or automaton. Another example is a woman on a date who ignores the sexual implications of her date's compliments and delays the moment of decision, choosing to view her hand as a mere thing in the world rather than acknowledging her freedom to consent or resist.

Simone de Beauvoir, a fellow philosopher and Sartre's life-long partner, identified three types of women acting in bad faith: the Narcissist, who construes herself as a desirable object; the Mystic, who invests her freedom in an absolute; and the Woman in Love, who submerges her identity in that of a man.

Escaping bad faith requires coordinating our understanding of facticity (our concrete realities and past) and transcendence (our potential and future possibilities). By recognizing the combined value of these two dimensions of consciousness, we can strive for authenticity and embrace our essential freedom.

Bad faith is a form of self-deception

Sartre's philosophy is rooted in the idea of freedom. He believed that humans are absolutely free and that this freedom is inescapable. We are always free to make choices and guide our lives, even in overwhelming circumstances. For Sartre, this freedom is what defines us as humans.

However, with absolute freedom comes absolute responsibility. We are responsible for our actions, projects, and decisions, as well as for our continuous making and re-making of ourselves. This responsibility can be overwhelming and lead to feelings of anguish or angst.

Bad faith is a way to escape this responsibility and anguish. It is when we deny our freedom and try to hide from it. We do this by living by labels or titles and following rules set by external entities. We make choices based on the roles we play or the labels we try to live by. For example, a person might accept the label of poverty and deny their freedom to explore options beyond their circumstances.

In Sartre's view, bad faith is inauthentic. It is when we pretend that our possibilities are denied to us by assuming social roles and value systems that are external to our nature. However, this is itself a decision made possible by our freedom and separation from these things. By acting in bad faith, we are denying our own freedom while still relying on it to perform the denial.

Sartre gives the example of a café waiter. The waiter's movements and conversation are a little too "waiter-esque". He carries food rigidly and ostentatiously, and his movements are a little too quick and precise. Sartre argues that the waiter is play-acting as a waiter, as an object in the world, and as an automaton whose essence is to be a waiter. The waiter is aware that he is not merely a waiter but is consciously deceiving himself.

Another example Sartre gives is that of a young woman on a first date. She ignores the sexual implications of her date's compliments and accepts them as words directed at her as a human consciousness. When he takes her hand, she lets it rest indifferently in his, neither consenting nor resisting, thereby delaying the moment when she must choose to acknowledge his intention. By doing this, she is playing on her dual human reality as a physical being and as a consciousness separate and free from this physicality.

According to Sartre, bad faith arises from the two dimensions of human consciousness: facticity and transcendence. Facticity refers to the concrete realities or "givens" of an individual, such as their past actions, height, and school. Transcendence, on the other hand, is the conscious individual's ability to surpass their immediate situation or facticity. These two dimensions need to co-exist, and bad faith occurs when an individual fails to recognize their combined value.

There are two ways to arrive at bad faith: through the affirmation of one's facticity and the denial of one's transcendence, or through the affirmation of one's transcendence and the denial of one's facticity. In the first example of the waiter, he affirms his facticity by completely committing to the role he is playing, denying the idea that he could be more than just a waiter. In the second example of the woman on a date, she denies her transcendence by restricting the man's behaviour to the present and postponing the moment when she must make a decision about his advances.

Bad faith is a way to escape responsibility

Jean-Paul Sartre's concept of "bad faith" is integral to his philosophy of existentialism. According to Sartre, human reality is comprised of two elements: "facticity" and "transcendence". Facticity refers to the concrete realities or givens of an individual, such as their past actions, physical traits, and childhood. Transcendence, on the other hand, represents the potential of human consciousness to surpass these immediate circumstances and move towards the future.

Sartre posits that these two aspects of human reality should coexist and be validly coordinated. However, bad faith arises when an individual fails to recognise the combined value of these dimensions. It is a form of self-deception, where one attempts to deny their innate freedom and the responsibility that comes with it. In other words, bad faith is a way to escape the burden of absolute freedom and the anguish that accompanies it.

Sartre illustrates this concept with examples of a café waiter and a woman on a date. The waiter's exaggerated movements and eagerness to please indicate that he is play-acting, consciously deceiving himself about his identity as a waiter. Similarly, the woman on a date, aware of her date's intentions, chooses to ignore them and delays making a decision, thereby escaping the responsibility of acknowledging her role as an object of sexual desire.

Bad faith can also manifest in two ways: by affirming facticity while denying transcendence, or by affirming transcendence while denying facticity. For instance, a person may accept the label of poverty and limit their possibilities, or a homosexual man may deny his past experiences and refuse to acknowledge his sexual orientation.

Sartre believes that humans cannot escape responsibility by adopting external moral systems, as the very act of adoption is a choice. We are "condemned to be free", constantly making and remaking ourselves through our projects, actions, and decisions. While bad faith provides temporary relief from the weight of freedom, it ultimately leads to an inauthentic existence.

Bad faith is a paradox

In the philosophy of Jean-Paul Sartre, bad faith is a state in which an individual denies their innate freedom as a human being. This freedom is inescapable, even in the most overwhelming circumstances. For example, even a person who is colonised and oppressed still has choices: to submit to rule, to negotiate, to resist non-violently, or to counter-attack.

However, bad faith is a free decision in itself. It is a choice to deny one's freedom. This is a paradox: the individual is using their freedom to deny their freedom.

Sartre gives the example of a woman on a date. She is aware that her date has intentions, plans, and desires. But she chooses to ignore this, and in doing so, she postpones the moment at which she will have to make a decision or take a particular attitude towards him. By doing this, she is escaping the fact that she is, in that moment, an object of sexual desire. But when the man takes her hand, she is forced to make a decision. She leaves her hand in his, neither consenting nor resisting. In this way, she is pretending to be merely a 'thing' in the world, and not a conscious being with freedom and choice.

Sartre also gives the example of a waiter in a cafe. The waiter's movements and conversation are a little too 'waiter-esque'. His voice is overly eager to please, and he carries food rigidly and ostentatiously. Sartre says that the waiter is play-acting, pretending to be an object in the world and an automaton whose essence is to be a waiter. But in doing this, the waiter is acknowledging that he is not merely a waiter, and is therefore deceiving himself.

In these examples, the individuals are using their freedom to deny their freedom. This is the paradox of bad faith.

Bad faith is a choice

This is the central claim of Jean-Paul Sartre's philosophy. For Sartre, human beings are radically free. We are always free to make choices and guide our lives towards our own chosen goals. This freedom is inescapable and constitutes what it means to be human.

However, with absolute freedom comes absolute responsibility. We are responsible for our actions, projects, and decisions, and for our continuous making and re-making of ourselves. This responsibility produces an overwhelming sense of anguish or angst.

Bad faith is an attempt to escape this freedom and responsibility. It is a form of self-deception, where we try to deny our freedom and rid ourselves of the anguish we feel. In bad faith, we try to escape the responsibility of freedom by blaming outside forces for our situation and choices. We claim to be a victim of external circumstances and define ourselves with labels (e.g. "wife", "student", "poor", etc.). We live by rules and guidelines set by external entities, rather than choosing for ourselves.

For Sartre, this is the equivalent of living an inauthentic life. We are denying our freedom and, therefore, denying ourselves. We must face the reality that we can choose differently at any moment. We are not defined by a label or role. We are not solely what we are aware of; we are always aware that we are more than what we are aware of.

Sartre gives the example of a woman on a first date. She is aware of the sexual implications of her date's compliments and that she will eventually have to make a decision about his advances. However, she chooses to ignore this and restricts his behaviour to the present, delaying the moment of decision. By doing so, she is denying her freedom to choose and is, therefore, acting in bad faith.

Another example is that of a café waiter. The waiter's movements and conversation are a little too "waiter-esque". He is play-acting as a waiter, as an object in the world, and as an automaton whose essence is to be a waiter. He is obviously acting, and so is aware that he is not merely a waiter, but he is consciously deceiving himself. He is choosing to deny his freedom.

Bad faith is a paradoxical free decision to deny our inescapable freedom. It is a precarious state because it is paradoxical: we know we are lying to ourselves, yet we choose to believe the lie.

While bad faith can be a tempting escape from the burden of freedom and responsibility, it is ultimately limiting. By choosing to live in bad faith, we are choosing to limit ourselves. We must take responsibility and make of ourselves what we will.

Frequently asked questions