I honestly loved this talk. Both the talk on Sunday, and the talk on Wednesday were eye opening to me in completely different ways. The most profound came from my talk on Sunday during the after school mock classroom talk.
The idea of Bad Faith to me is a re imagining of a very old concept that I have held in high regard. To be in a state of balance between to different sides of the same coin is an age old idea, and one that bears repeating to younger generations. From good versus evil, light versus dark, will versus fear (stemming from my having just watched The Green Lantern for the first time), or this idea of being stuck in the past versus being stuck in the future, they all have the same outcome; balance. There is no pure good just as there is no pure evil. Rather there is good in the face of evil, and we have to choose which side to pour our efforts into. This idea brought from Bad Faith, however, is a little different. Rather than being a pull between both sides of the problem and having to choose a singular side, the idea of going against Bad Faith requires that we stand between the two ideals, like balancing on a tightrope. With Bad Faith dealing with being stuck in the past and the facts versus being stuck in the future and never having anything happen, we as humans find that facets of our lives can sometimes fall into one of these two categories, but rarely does it fall right between.
A personal example I have of this has to do with my love life. While not a great success, I feel I have the ideals and mindset of a person ready and willing to commit to a stable relationship with the right person. And indeed, I believed I had found the right person, and all was good within the world. However, I found myself in a state of constant stress as I tried everything to make sure this person was happy, while never having much happiness for myself, and at the same time straining the relationship. I was in a state of Transcendence, or being too far into the future. I had begun to see failure before it occured, and in trying to avoid it, caused more failure than I was trying to prevent. And then, when the relationship failed, I entered into the opposite, Facticity. Within Facticity, I was conviced that I was the ultimate cause of all the problems in our relationship, and that my failures would keep me from having a stable, meaningful relationship anytime in the future. And that was when I hit rock bottom. I spent hours thinking to myself about what had happened and how much of a failure I was. And at the same time, Thad was preparing to deliver the talk that would change all that. Because when I heard about this idea of Bad Faith, it all clicked. I was living in such Bad Faith that I had forgotten my reasons for seeking that stable relationship that I craved. It was so I could have happiness in my life, and provide happiness for others in that moment. There was no need to think of the future, nor of the past. Rather, there was only a need to make sure that I was in the moment, doing my best to make life worth living every day. And this was mirrored in class on Wednesday. I found myself reasserted, and I feel that if I hold onto this idea of Bad Faith, I can achieve more than I ever would have thought possible.
The issue of bad faith has resonated with me, it seems that we as humans try and find this balance between good and evil. In your blog you make a great point that we strive for this middle that we can never quite pinpoint. I am fascinated that not having bad Faith is such a hard achievement to accomplish. My bad Faith comes from not being able to balance the past. It seems that the bad faith of the past is always the most haunting. I have a tendency to over think the past, and go over the different possibilities that could have happened. I can relate to your blog because I have had past relationships that failed, and I would blame myself for the whole situation. I think that was a moment in time that I was a being that was living in-it self, and not living as a being for it self. I think as individuals we need to be aware of how we are living. Now that I have this concept of bad faith I am able to reflect on my past to be able to see where I was experiencing a bad faith. I know, as you are probably aware, bad faith is a place where one can lose all concepts of being. Though, I also do believe this bad faith does help us progress in a way that is beneficial to us in the end. I believe reflection on our experiences will help us better understand why we cannot have this balance of past and future.
ReplyDeleteI think that's so great that Bad Faith has such a profound effect on you and that's kind of what were going for in presenting it. I know Thad's presentation probably had a greater effect, but I am happy to hear how it has affected you. A lot of us who have been in relationships can probably totally relate to your situation, I know I can. But the thing is, in relationships, at least if it is getting serious, it is important to think about the future, of course. Thinking about the future isn't necessarily living in transcendence. But I totally do not know your experience so I would assume your situation was different and I am not sure how that would look like (living in a transcendence in regard to a relationship). But yes, we have to walk on that tightrope, no matter how vulnerable it makes us feel. We have to accept it, and I loved that example you gave. Sartre's advice is pretty practical and obvious, but for some reason, to avoid responsibility mainly among others, humans constantly fall into this pattern of bad faith. Bad faith can produce positive consequences, some bloggers have pointed out, and thus, it is not understood by some why Sartre is so against the phenomenon. However, Sartre believes it is not about the results of our actions necessarily that matter, but rather our intentions.
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