Chapter 4: Self Existentialism: Self-Identity and the Responsibility of Choice

1. Chapter 4: SelfExistentialism: Self-Identity and the Responsibility of Choice Introducing Philosophy, 10th edition Robert C. Solomon, Kathleen Higgins, and Clancy Martin

2. Existentialism • Existentialists believe that self-identity, in every case, is a matter of choice; the self is created through choices • The interaction of the self and the world: the dynamic of a self that can act only in, and is always conditioned by, the world; choices are choices in the world • The creation of the self in time

3. Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980) • Contemporary French philosopher who began as a literary writer and a phenomenologist, in the style of Edmund Husserl, but who converted that austere philosophy to his own radical ends • Generally regarded as the main proponent of the philosophy of existentialism • Sartre’s existentialism is a moral philosophy as well as a philosophy of freedom

4. Sartre’s existentialism denies that there is any such thing as “human nature” and therefore insists that “man makes himself” • Through our various choices and moral commitments we deem what we want humanity to be • According to Sartre, we do not simply find moral principles upon which we should act, but rather we choose those moral principles through our acting

5. Thus, Sartre’s moral philosophy places most of its emphasis on action • It minimizes the importance of moral deliberation and all that sort of moralizing in which we simply talk about what is good rather than simply a “good will,” as in Kant • In his novels and plays, Sartre’s characters are always torn by alternative identities • They suffer just because they cannot make up their minds

6. In his work, Being and Nothingness (1943), Sartre argues that everyone “is who he is not, and is not who he is” • The paradoxical phrase means that our identity is never simply the totality of facts (“facticity”) that is true of us • We always identify ourselves with our plans and intentions for the future (our “transcendence”) as well, which means that so long as we are alive, we have no fixed “identity” at all

7. No set standards for self-identity, either for individuals or for people in general • No such thing as “human nature” • What we are—and what it means to be a human being—is always a matter of decision • There is no correct choice; there are only choices

8. Each person chooses which facts are to be considered as essential to one’s self-identity • The facts alone are not enough to judge a person (this is called facticity); that person’s projections into the future, ambitions, intentions, hopes, etc., also have to be considered (a person’s transcendence)

9. Bad Faith, Self-Deception, and Authenticity • Bad faith is the possibility of refusing to accept responsibility for one’s choices • This results ultimately in avoiding responsibility for selfhood • Bad faith and self-deception: is every case of self-deception a case of bad faith? Procrastination? Distraction?

10. Mechanisms of Bad Faith • The woman on her first date: Suppose he takes her hand. This act of her companion risks changing the situation by calling for an immediate decision. To leave the hand there is to consent in herself to flirt, to engage herself. To withdraw it is to break the troubled and unstable harmony that gives the hour its charm

11. Mechanisms of Bad Faith The aim is to postpone the moment of decision as long as possible. We know what happens next; the young woman leaves her hand there, but she does not notice that she is leaving it —Sartre, Being and Nothingness • Bad faith and authenticity: one may use bad faith to avoid the task of self-understanding