Bad Faith

In a sense, were all fakes . The French existentialist philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre refers to the lies we tell to ourselves as ˜˜bad faith. He suggests that it is pretty much a capacity built right into our way of being. He doesnt mean that we knowingly tell ourselves falsehoods. He means that people have an ability to take a position on a matter even though some other part of them does not hold that position. We can experience a profound alienation from ourselves .

Examples of bad faith abound. A man in my office is late pretty much every day. His boss sometimes complains to her peers about it. But she doesnt actually confront the tardy employee. Shes committing bad faith. She knows its not okay with her that this employee is late. She intends to act on it some day. Her lie, her fakery, is in letting it go on without addressing it.

Addictions are great examples of bad faith. Somebody knows he wants to quit smoking. He stomps out his last cigarette and declares to the universe, ˜˜Thats it. I quit. And then, an hour later, some trigger prompts him to reach for another smoke. He recalls his declaration but leaps past its meaning with the thought, ˜˜Ill quit later. At that moment, he is in bad faith.

Extramarital affairs are prime examples of bad faith. At the time we are romancing our new friend, we are usually deceiving ourselves. We ignore one truth for the sake of another more appealing one.

But being a fake is not just about tricking ourselves. Its also about tricking othersnot necessarily intending to trick them, but just participating in it. Lets look at some examples.