(Un)certainty: Existence & Essence - Breaking Free from Bad Faith and Crafting an Authentic Life

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What if you're living a life that's not truly yours? Discover how Jean-Paul Sartre's existential philosophy challenges us to confront the uncomfortable truth about freedom, meaning, and responsibility. We tackle Sartre's famous assertion that "existence precedes essence," exploring how it liberates us from predefined roles yet burdens us with the task of crafting our own identity through our choices. This episode uncovers the concept of "bad faith," where denying responsibility for our lives leads to stagnation—illustrated by real-world examples like toxic relationships and rigid societal norms. By understanding that we create our own meaning, we can transform our lives, finding purpose in our everyday actions and relationships without needing external validation.

Join us as we weigh the delicate balance between comfort and fulfillment, urging a reevaluation of the safe, yet uninspired paths we often walk. Are distractions like social media and work just shields from confronting our true desires? Inspired by Sartre's teachings, we propose facing these feelings head-on, embracing the freedom to shape our life's direction. This episode is a rallying cry to live authentically and become an active participant in your journey. Reflect on whether you're living to meet others' expectations or your own, and take bold steps towards a fulfilling, self-defined existence.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
It means that meaning isn't something out there
waiting for us to discover.
Meaning is what we make of life.
Hey everybody, welcome back toanother episode of man Uncaved.
I am your host, shane, and I'mjust going to go ahead and jump
into it.

(00:20):
Today we're going to dive intoexistentialism.
Now, specifically, we're goingto be talking about Jean-Paul
Sartre, a key figure in thisphilosophical movement, and his
bold ideas about meaning,freedom and responsibility.
Now, it's a tough and sometimescan be uncomfortable subject,

(00:44):
but by the end of today'sepisode, my hopes is that you're
going to walk away with a freshperspective on your own life
and purpose topic.

(01:06):
But I'm just going to kind ofbreak it down At its core.
Existentialism is really aboutone thing finding meaning in a
world that doesn't come with abuilt-in manual.
Now, that might sound a littleoverwhelming, but it's also kind
of liberating Jean-Paul Sartre,the French philosopher we're
going to focus on today.
Believe that life doesn't comewith an inherent purpose, that

(01:29):
we're thrown into existence andultimately it's up to us to
create meaning for ourself.
There's no divine script, nouniversal guide to follow.
We have to make our own meaningfrom scratch.
Now let's start with Sartre'sfamous phrase existence precedes

(01:51):
essence.
Now, that might sound crypticat first, but it's key to
understanding his wholephilosophy.
Sartre is essentially sayingthat, unlike a spoon or a chair,
objects that are designed witha specific purpose in mind,
human beings are born first, andonly then do we define what we

(02:18):
are.
In other words, we aren't bornwith a set of purpose or
identity, we have the freedom tocreate our own.
It's like this when you're born, there's no you yet, just
existence.
It's only through your actions,decisions and choices that you

(02:41):
start to define yourself.
There's no preordained path, nohigher power telling you what
to do or who to be, and, asSartre would argue, that's both
terrifying and empowering.
You're free to shape your ownlife and your own meaning, but

(03:01):
with that freedom comesresponsibility.
That freedom isn't a free pass,though.
Sartre said.
We're condemned to be free.
It's not just the ability tochoose that's liberating.
It's the realization that oncewe choose, we're fully
responsible for the outcome.

(03:23):
We're fully responsible for theoutcome.
We can't blame anyone else forour choices, and we can't hide
behind societal norms orexpectations.
You're not just living life,you're actively making it.

(03:49):
And if we avoid thisresponsibility, well, that's
when we fall into what Sartrecalls bad faith.
But let's take a look at someexamples of that.
Some of these examples wealready probably have struggled
with.
I can definitely say I havestruggled in my own life where
the meaning and the denial oftaking any responsibility.
So one is being in a toxicrelationship where we fear being

(04:11):
alone, so we stay in thisrelationship.
So Sartre looks at this as abad faith, that we're staying in
this relationship because it'scomfortable or because we're
afraid of the uncertainty andresponsibility of being alone he
talks about.
In doing so, we're actuallydenying our own agency and the

(04:34):
possibility for personal growth.
Now let's look at this anotherone.
This is another example livingaccording to rigid gender roles.
So this one would beconfronting to traditional or
societal gender expectations andthis could be out of the
convenience of fear, of thisjudgment, rather than

(04:55):
acknowledging our true self anddesires.
For example, a man might forcehimself to suppress his own
emotions and adapt aquote-unquote stoic role just
because society expects him to,instead of embracing his
vulnerability, living moreauthentically.

(05:15):
Sartre believes that living inbad faith, suppressing your true
freedom, was a form ofself-deception and ultimately it
leads to despair.
It's the lies we're tellingourselves and this leads to the
downfall of our own self and canbe connected to mental health

(05:37):
issues, struggles through life.
So this is where things getinteresting.
Existence precedes essence andwe're free to create our own
meaning.
Then what does it mean for howwe live our lives?
It means that meaning isn'tsomething out there waiting for

(06:00):
us to discover.
Meaning is what we make of life, and this, I think, is one of
Sartre's most profound ideas.
We're not born with a fixedpurpose, but we have the power
to give our life purpose throughthe choices we make and the
actions we take.

(06:22):
The idea that meaning isself-made might sound radical or
even overwhelming, but it alsogives us incredible freedom.
Instead of waiting for life tohand us meaning on a silver
platter, we are invited tocreate it through relationships,
work, creativity and how weengage with the world around us.

(06:45):
Creativity and how we engagewith the world around us.
This is empowering because itmeans you get to decide what's
meaningful in your life, notsome external force or
predetermined destiny.
Now, for example, someone mightfind meaning in their career by
choosing to pursue a passion.
Meaning in their career bychoosing to pursue a passion.

(07:09):
Another person might findmeaning in their relationships,
pouring love and attention intofamily and friendships.
And maybe someone else findsmeaning in something as simple
as the small, everyday acts ofkindness that extend to others.
The point is, meaning isn'tsomething fixed or objective.
It's something we create momentby moment through our actions

(07:35):
and choices.
Now I get it.
Creating your own meaning mightsound daunting, especially if
you're feeling lost ordisconnected.
But SART doesn't say it has tobe a huge grand gesture.
It's the everyday choices, thesmall ways we decide to live

(07:55):
authentically that build meaningin our lives.
So here are somethought-provoking questions that
I believe can actually help youwith identifying your own bad
faith patterns.
One is what choices are youmaking in your life out of a
sense of obligation orexpectation rather than from

(08:18):
your own true desires?
Now think about some areaswhere you might be living to
meet others' expectations, suchas your career, your
relationships or lifestyle.
Are you doing these thingsbecause you generally want to or
because it's what's expected ofyou?
Another good question is areyou avoiding making decisions or

(08:39):
facing certain aspects of yourlife because you're afraid of
the responsibility orconsequences of your life?
Because you're afraid of theresponsibility or consequences?
Now think about this.
Is there an area in your lifewhere you might feel stuck or
passive, waiting for someoneelse to make the decision for
you?
Now, what happens when youimagine taking full
responsibility for that area?

(09:01):
Now think about that.
Become aware of the thoughts,the feelings surrounding that.
Another one is are you stayingin situations that feel safe but
unfulfilling?
Now do you find yourself in ajob, relationships, these
routines that offer security butnot fulfillment?

(09:22):
What might happen if you stepout of that comfort zone?
Another one is do you usedistractions this could be
social media, drinking, work toavoid facing difficult truths or
emotions?
How often do you engage inthese activities that help you
avoid confronting your deeperemotions or life's challenges?

(09:46):
What would happen if you facethose uncomfortable feelings
instead?
Here's another one to maybehelp you look at your own
patterns.
These are some questions that Ihave come up with that I use
from time to time just to lookat my own life, to gauge, to get
some more data, as I like tosay.
One is do you feel a sense offreedom in your life or do you

(10:09):
feel like you're livingaccording to what life has
thrown at you?
Do you believe that your lifeis happening to you, or do you
feel empowered to create andchange the direction of your
life.
This is really being more of anactive participant than just
kind of living on an autopilot.
When we live on autopilot, weare just living with what life

(10:34):
throws at us and we are notrealizing that we are actually
the creators of our own life.
Sartre's philosophy doesn'toffer an easy solution or a
confronting escape.
Doesn't offer an easy solutionor a confronting escape.
Instead, it challenges us toconfront the uncomfortable truth
that meaning comes from withinand that we are the ones

(10:58):
responsible for shaping it.
We're free to liveauthentically or not, but how we
choose to live determineswhether our lives are meaningful
or not.
Sartre's existentialism showsus that life has no inherent
meaning.
No one is going to give you apurpose.

(11:20):
The beauty and the challenge isthat you get to decide what your
life means.
Meaning isn't something handedto us or discovered through
outside forces.
It's created through ourchoices, our actions and our
engagement.
The next time you find yourselfquestioning your place in the

(11:41):
world, remember that the searchfor meaning is in your hands.
It's not a destination.
It's the journey, the decisionsyou make and how you live out
those choices authentically.
So that's today's episode, aquick snapshot about
existentialism, from Jean-PaulSartre's philosophy that the

(12:03):
meaning of our life is what wemake it through our actions,
through our choices, throughresponsibility of those, and
stop denying our freedom and ourresponsibility.
I hope this topic was excitingfor you as it was for me.
If you found it helpful, pleaseshare it.
Someone else might want to hearthis Again.

(12:25):
My name is Shane.
This is man Uncaved.
We need to come out of hiding.