How is Sartres view different from the “traditional rationalist view” and the “Judaeo-Christian view”?
The traditional rationalist view affirms that there is such a thing as human nature; humans, for example, are rational animals. But Sartre denies there is a universal human nature shared by all people. Only our choices can determine our essence or nature. Sartre denies that human beings have a purpose; humans are not made for anything. We exist first (hence the name “existentialist”) and then we define, and redefine, and redefine ourselves. *18. What does Sartre mean by “bad faith” (sometimes rendered “self-deception”)? Bad faith is our condition when we tell ourselves that we are not responsible for what we have done or what we are in our lives so far. My genes made me do it; the fact that I was maltreated as a child made me feel inferior. Anger overcame me and I hit her. Sartre denies that our genes or our environment or our emotions treated as other than ourselves made us do or feel anything. The idea that we are responsible for our actions causes anguish; and we escape from this an
