Bad Faith, Responsibility and Freedom.

Oli, you said that, ‘we must also justify our actions in the face of the reality that we can seek support from nowhere else but ourselves.’ Solomon (2006, p.146) reaffirms this observation by saying, “The bottom line, however, is that self-deception is not primarily a matter of beliefs, much less contradictory beliefs. It is not (literally) a matter of self-deception. It is, rather, a question of taking responsibility.” Can we ever take full reasonability if we are located in a realm of bad faith? If we do not take into account our past and our full potential we are not showing ourselves full respect, therefore we are not being responsible in allowing ourselves to have the best life possible. Sartre says, “Bad faith seeks to affirm their identity while preserving their differences.” (p.56). Heter (2006, p. 63) states, “The concept of bad faith is parasitic on Sartre's concept of human freedom. I define bad faith as a lived misrecognition of one's own freedom. Bad faith is 'lived' in the sense that it is expressed through actions, as well as beliefs and attitudes.” It seems then that to not be in bad faith, we must truthfully acknowledge our past, recognise our potential, make the correct judgements and give meaning to what we do all at the same time. This brings me back to your point Oli, in that we can only examine our actions and cross reference them with ourselves once we have carried them out. Heter (2006, p.64) goes on to say, “Just as one can fail to recognize the freedom of others by disrespecting them, one can fail to recognize one's own freedom by disrespecting one's self.” But is this a modern interpretation of freedom. To be responsible, to acknowledge our past and to reach out for our true potential, is that the concept of freedom today? Somewhere deep inside each one of us there is an empty space, what Sartre calls Néant, or nothingness, which no one and no thing can touch. That place is freedom, for in it I can give the events of my life any meaning I choose. (Alford, 2005, p.56). So for Sartre the women was acting in bath faith because she was reduced the action of leaving her hand there and being nothing, we only have Sartre to thank for providing us with the narrative of meaning. As I have said before both have negative meanings. The true meaning would have been locked deep inside.