Jean-Paul Sartre

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Sartre's Concepts of Authenticity and Bad Faith
Jean-Paul Sartre's existentialist philosophy centers on how we create meaning in a universe without inherent purpose. Two of his most important concepts are "authenticity" and "bad faith," which deal with how we make and honor commitments to ourselves.
Bad Faith (Mauvaise Foi)
Bad faith is essentially self-deception. According to Sartre, we engage in bad faith when we:
Deny our fundamental freedom: Pretending we "have no choice" when we always do
Hide from our responsibility: Blaming external factors for our decisions
Adopt predetermined roles: Defining ourselves solely through social roles (like "waiter" or "student")
Sartre's famous example is a café waiter who performs his role too perfectly, moving with excessive precision and formality. This waiter is in bad faith because he's trying to be "just a waiter" rather than acknowledging he's a free consciousness choosing to act as a waiter.
Authenticity
Authenticity means embracing our radical freedom and the responsibility that comes with it. An authentic person:
Acknowledges their freedom: Recognizes that almost all aspects of their life involve choices
Takes responsibility: Owns the consequences of their decisions
Creates their own values: Doesn't simply adopt values from society, religion, or tradition
Lives with "anguish": Accepts the anxiety that comes with freedom rather than fleeing from it
Making and Keeping Commitments
For Sartre, making authentic commitments is particularly challenging because:
No external guarantees: Without God or fixed human nature, nothing "ensures" we'll keep our commitments
Continuous renewal: An authentic commitment must be continuously renewed through choice
Project-based identity: We become who we are through our ongoing projects and commitments
When we make a commitment authentically, we recognize that nothing forces us to keep it—we must choose it again each day. This applies to careers, relationships, personal goals, and moral principles.
Example: The Case of Marriage
Consider marriage: A person in bad faith might say, "I must stay in this marriage because marriage is sacred" or "because society expects it."
An authentic person might say: "I choose to recommit to this marriage today, knowing I am free to leave, but valuing what we've built and who I become through this commitment."

The Look (Le Regard)
Sartre discusses how other people's perceptions of us (what he calls "the Look" or "the Gaze") can lead to bad faith. When we're aware of being observed, we tend to see ourselves as objects in others' eyes rather than as free subjects. This objectification can push us toward inauthenticity as we try to conform to others' expectations.
Facticity and Transcendence
Sartre describes two fundamental aspects of human existence:
Facticity: The concrete facts about our situation (our body, history, social position)
Transcendence: Our capacity to go beyond these facts through choice and imagination
Bad faith occurs when we deny either aspect:
Denying facticity: Pretending our past doesn't constrain us at all
Denying transcendence: Treating ourselves as just a product of our circumstances
Authenticity requires acknowledging both our limitations and our freedom to work within and beyond them.
The Project of Self
For Sartre, we are constantly engaged in a "project" of creating ourselves. There is no fixed self—we are what we do. This means:
Our identity is never final but always in process
We can redefine ourselves through new choices
Consistency can be authentic only if freely chosen each time
Anguish, Abandonment, Despair
Sartre discusses three emotional responses to freedom:
Anguish: The vertigo of realizing our absolute freedom
Abandonment: The recognition that no external authority can guide our choices
Despair: Understanding that we can count only on what is within our will
These emotions aren't negative but rather necessary components of authentic existence.
Seriality vs. Group Formation
In his later work (Critique of Dialectical Reason), Sartre explores how social conditions affect authenticity. He distinguishes between:
Seriality: People acting as isolated individuals, often in bad faith
Group-in-fusion: People acting together with shared purpose, potentially more authentic
This shows how social contexts can either enhance or inhibit authentic commitment.
Sartre develops these ideas primarily in "Being and Nothingness" (1943) and later modifies some of his thinking to incorporate more social and historical dimensions in his "Critique of Dialectical Reason" (1960).

Sartre's Deeper Thoughts on Making and Keeping Commitments
Sartre's views on commitments are complex and nuanced. Let me explore the deeper dimensions of his thinking:
The Fundamental Project
For Sartre, each person has what he calls a "fundamental project" – an overarching way of engaging with the world that unifies all their choices. This isn't predetermined but emerges from our pattern of choices. Our specific commitments gain meaning within this larger project of who we're choosing to become.
The Problem of Time
Commitment presents a unique challenge because it involves binding our future self, who doesn't yet exist. Sartre points out a paradox:
The person making the commitment today is not identical to the person who must fulfill it tomorrow
Yet we treat ourselves as if we have a stable identity across time
This temporal dimension creates what Sartre calls a "detotalized totality" – we are always both complete (in the present) and incomplete (extending into the future).
Commitment as Self-Creation
When we make commitments, we're not just promising to do something – we're actively creating ourselves:
"I will be faithful" becomes part of how I define myself
This self-definition is never final but requires continuous reaffirmation
By keeping commitments, I create continuity in my identity
The Notion of Engagement
Sartre's concept of "engagement" (commitment) has political and moral dimensions:
All choices implicate us in the world and affect others
True commitment requires recognizing how our choices shape both ourselves and society
Authentic commitment means taking responsibility for these wider implications
In his essay "What is Literature?", Sartre argues that the committed writer chooses to engage with real-world issues, taking responsibility for how their words might change reality.
The Challenge of Contingency
Sartre emphasizes that all commitments face the challenge of contingency – unpredictable events and changes that may undermine our projects:
We might make a commitment based on circumstances that later change
Our values and priorities might shift over time
External forces may make fulfillment impossible
Authenticity requires acknowledging this contingency rather than pretending our commitments exist in a stable, predictable world.
The Role of Others in Our Commitments
While Sartre is often seen as focusing on individual choice, he recognizes that commitments almost always involve others:
Others witness and help sustain our commitments
Our commitments to others help define who we are
Being recognized by others in our commitments creates social meaning
In his later work, Sartre explores how collective commitments can be more powerful than individual ones, especially in confronting social and political realities.
The Ethics of Commitment
Though Sartre rejects universal moral principles, he develops what might be called an ethics of commitment:
Making commitments with clear-eyed awareness of freedom
Regularly reevaluating commitments rather than clinging to them out of habit
Recognizing that each commitment implies values that extend beyond the individual
In essence, for Sartre, authentic commitment means creating yourself through freely chosen projects while fully acknowledging the responsibility and uncertainty this entails. It's a continuous process of self-creation rather than a one-time decision.

This is interesting. I thought about this problem as a infinite version of the principal agent problem. With your present self being both the principal of the future yet an agent of the past.

That's a fascinating way of framing it! You've identified a profound connection between Sartre's existentialist view of commitment and economic/organizational theory.
The principal-agent problem across time creates exactly the kind of tension Sartre was exploring. Let me develop this connection:
Temporal Principal-Agent Problem
In the standard principal-agent problem, the principal hires an agent to act on their behalf, but their interests may diverge, and monitoring is difficult. In your temporal version:
Your present self is the principal directing your future self (the agent) to fulfill commitments
Your present self is simultaneously the agent of your past self's commitments
Each "temporal self" has potentially different interests, information, and incentives
This creates multiple challenges that Sartre would recognize:
Information asymmetry: Your present self cannot fully know what your future self will value or desire
Preference inconsistency: Your future self may genuinely value different things
Enforcement mechanisms: Unlike traditional principal-agent relationships, you cannot create binding contracts with your future self
Sartrean Analysis of This Framework
Sartre would appreciate this model but add several philosophical dimensions:
Radical freedom: Unlike traditional agents, your future self always retains the freedom to reject past commitments
No fixed identity: The principal-agent model assumes relatively stable entities, but Sartre would argue that each temporal "self" is fundamentally different
Bad faith in temporal contracting: Pretending your future self is bound to honor your present commitments would be a form of bad faith
Authenticity as a Solution?
Your framework raises an interesting question: Can Sartrean authenticity help resolve this temporal principal-agent problem?
Perhaps authentic commitment involves:
Acknowledging the freedom of your future self
Creating meaningful projects that your future self will likely continue to value
Developing a coherent "fundamental project" that provides continuity across temporal selves
Continually renegotiating commitments rather than treating them as fixed contracts
This is a remarkably insightful way to think about Sartre's philosophy in contemporary terms. The temporal principal-agent framework captures both the practical challenges of keeping commitments and the deeper existential questions about identity and freedom over time.

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Jean-Paul Sartre

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