Bad Faith and the Phrase ‘I Had No Choice’

The chapter's central question

Self-deception is not simply the state of lying while knowing the truth. Human beings are an already given facticity—past, body, role—and at the same time the possibility of going beyond that meaning. You can avoid the anxiety of freedom by fixating only one side as yourself. It denies the possibility of ‘I am naturally this kind of person’ and the reality of ‘circumstances have no influence’.

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The sharpest criticism of Sartre's existentialism is 'self-deception (Bad Faith)'.

People always make excuses after getting angry, verbally abusive, and throwing things away. 'I was so angry that I lost my temper. There was nothing I could do at that moment.' They cosplay as victims, as if a monster called emotions has kidnapped them from outside and forced them to commit sins.

Sartre firmly declares: 'Don't lie!' You have not lost your mind. To discourage and subdue the other person, or to cover up your own mistakes, you have chosen the most effective magic mask called 'anger'. We always choose and direct our own emotions.

Context and nuance

Sartre's Outline of the Theory of Emotions is an early work that heralds phenomenological psychology rather than a completed emotional psychology. Rather than seeing emotions as passive internal states, we see them as a way in which consciousness changes the meaning of the world and the possibilities for action in blocked situations.

Emphasizing choice in the face of all constraints can downplay real-world violence and structural limitations. For Sartre, freedom is not the ability to achieve a desired outcome, but the inescapable condition of giving meaning to a given situation and how to respond. Responsibility is not omnipotence, nor does it mean placing responsibility for the oppression of others on the victims.

Do not oversimplify it this way

Saying that emotions ‘magically’ change the world does not mean that all emotions are intentionally selected or postponed. Emotions engage the entire body and actually capture our consciousness. Using this perspective to accuse ‘you chose to be depressed’ distorts existentialism, which speaks of the complex relationship between freedom and circumstances.

Philosophy in life

When you fail at something, have you ever suddenly become cynical or extremely irritated, saying, "It was no use trying anyway?"

Switch to independent action: Rather than crying in a swamp of emotions, take one specific action right now that can change your reality by even 1 cm.

Primary-source guide

Primary guide: Sketch for a Theory of the Emotions, especially the critique of classical theories and the phenomenological account.

Pathos Editorial · Reviewed 2026-09-12