“Bad faith is a lie we tell ourselves about our freedom and responsibility. It is the denial of freedom through self-deception. A man who denies his radical freedom and hides in the conventions and roles of society is in bad faith.”
—
Jean-Paul Sartre
Being and Nothingness (L'Être et le Néant, 1943), Part One
Commentary
Bad faith (mauvaise foi) is Sartre's term for self-deception about one's freedom. We pretend we are essentially (unchangeably) certain things: 'I'm just shy,' 'I'm a waiter,' 'I'm not the kind of person who...' This denies our freedom to change, choose, and be otherwise.
The famous example: a waiter who identifies so completely with his role that he performs his essence as 'waiter' (precise gestures, distant politeness, mechanical precision). He hides his freedom in performance. Sartre critiques both oppressive social structures and individual complicity in bad faith.
Commentary
Bad faith (mauvaise foi) is Sartre's term for self-deception about one's freedom. We pretend we are essentially (unchangeably) certain things: 'I'm just shy,' 'I'm a waiter,' 'I'm not the kind of person who...' This denies our freedom to change, choose, and be otherwise.
The famous example: a waiter who identifies so completely with his role that he performs his essence as 'waiter' (precise gestures, distant politeness, mechanical precision). He hides his freedom in performance. Sartre critiques both oppressive social structures and individual complicity in bad faith.