Sartre And Religion Essay

Bad faith is one of the central concepts of Sartre’s existentialism because it is the human choice to deny freedom. Individuals deceive themselves into believing they are only free to a certain extent due to limited opportunities. They do this because when the extent of human freedom is presented, it creates anxiety. Anxiety can be defined as the feeling one possesses when faced with their infinite freedom and responsibility. In the words of Sartre himself, ‘anguish is anguish before myself.’ (Sartre, 2003, p.649) Anxiety is felt in the face of my future, possibilities and freedom. Human beings are tempted by bad faith because it is the lesser of two burdens: it is a larger burden to choose from endless possibility, have limitless freedom and carry the vast responsibility that comes with this, rather than having to choose between limited possibilities that already exist. This idea is

To support Sartre’s view, I used de Beauvoir’s corresponding argument that freedom stands at the root of existentialism. To refute this view, I used an argument from the later Sartre, who changed his initial stance to believe freedom is dependant upon existing social structures. Nevertheless, I believe the early Sartre was correct in his original claim, as it seems the later Sartre completely deviates from existentialism to focus on a materialist approach of the world. Furthermore, I consider instances of bad faith to still be very relevant in contemporary society. Human beings often shy away from their responsibilities to find the easy route out. This is the case for personal responsibilities as well as ethical situations happening on a global