Man (Un)Caved

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

• Shane Coyle • Season 2

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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.

Speaker 1:

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 to another episode of man Uncaved. I am your host, shane, and I'm just going to go ahead and jump into it. Today we're going to dive into existentialism. Now, specifically, we're going to be talking about Jean-Paul Sartre, a key figure in this philosophical movement, and his bold ideas about meaning, freedom and responsibility. Now, it's a tough and sometimes can be uncomfortable subject, but by the end of today's episode, my hopes is that you're going to walk away with a fresh perspective on your own life and purpose topic. But I'm just going to kind of break it down At its core.

Speaker 1:

Existentialism is really about one thing finding meaning in a world that doesn't come with a built-in manual. Now, that might sound a little overwhelming, 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 come with an inherent purpose, that we're thrown into existence and ultimately it's up to us to create meaning for ourself. There's no divine script, no universal guide to follow. We have to make our own meaning from scratch. Now let's start with Sartre's famous phrase existence precedes essence. Now, that might sound cryptic at first, but it's key to understanding his whole philosophy. Sartre is essentially saying that, unlike a spoon or a chair, objects that are designed with a specific purpose in mind, human beings are born first, and only then do we define what we are. In other words, we aren't born with a set of purpose or identity, we have the freedom to create 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 start to define yourself. There's no preordained path, no higher power telling you what to do or who to be, and, as Sartre would argue, that's both terrifying and empowering. You're free to shape your own life and your own meaning, but with that freedom comes responsibility. That freedom isn't a free pass, though. Sartre said. We're condemned to be free. It's not just the ability to choose that's liberating. It's the realization that once we choose, we're fully responsible for the outcome. We're fully responsible for the outcome. We can't blame anyone else for our choices, and we can't hide behind societal norms or expectations. You're not just living life, you're actively making it. And if we avoid this responsibility, well, that's when we fall into what Sartre calls bad faith.

Speaker 1:

But let's take a look at some examples of that. Some of these examples we already probably have struggled with. I can definitely say I have struggled in my own life where the meaning and the denial of taking any responsibility. So one is being in a toxic relationship where we fear being alone, so we stay in this relationship. So Sartre looks at this as a bad faith, that we're staying in this relationship because it's comfortable or because we're afraid of the uncertainty and responsibility of being alone he talks about. In doing so, we're actually denying our own agency and the possibility for personal growth. Now let's look at this another one. This is another example living according to rigid gender roles. So this one would be confronting to traditional or societal gender expectations and this could be out of the convenience of fear, of this judgment, rather than acknowledging our true self and desires. For example, a man might force himself to suppress his own emotions and adapt a quote-unquote stoic role just because society expects him to, instead of embracing his vulnerability, living more authentically.

Speaker 1:

Sartre believes that living in bad faith, suppressing your true freedom, was a form of self-deception and ultimately it leads to despair. It's the lies we're telling ourselves and this leads to the downfall of our own self and can be connected to mental health issues, struggles through life. So this is where things get interesting. Existence precedes essence and we're free to create our own meaning. Then what does it mean for how we live our lives? It means that meaning isn't something out there waiting for 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 fixed purpose, but we have the power to give our life purpose through the choices we make and the actions we take.

Speaker 1:

The idea that meaning is self-made might sound radical or even overwhelming, but it also gives us incredible freedom. Instead of waiting for life to hand us meaning on a silver platter, we are invited to create it through relationships, work, creativity and how we engage with the world around us. Creativity and how we engage with the world around us. This is empowering because it means you get to decide what's meaningful in your life, not some external force or predetermined destiny. Now, for example, someone might find meaning in their career by choosing to pursue a passion. Meaning in their career by choosing to pursue a passion. Another person might find meaning in their relationships, pouring love and attention into family and friendships. And maybe someone else finds meaning in something as simple as the small, everyday acts of kindness that extend to others. The point is, meaning isn't something fixed or objective. It's something we create moment by moment through our actions and choices. Now I get it. Creating your own meaning might sound daunting, especially if you're feeling lost or disconnected. But SART doesn't say it has to be a huge grand gesture. It's the everyday choices, the small ways we decide to live authentically that build meaning in our lives.

Speaker 1:

So here are some thought-provoking questions that I believe can actually help you with identifying your own bad faith patterns. One is what choices are you making in your life out of a sense of obligation or expectation rather than from your own true desires? Now think about some areas where you might be living to meet others' expectations, such as your career, your relationships or lifestyle. Are you doing these things because you generally want to or because it's what's expected of you? Another good question is are you avoiding making decisions or facing certain aspects of your life because you're afraid of the responsibility or consequences of your life? Because you're afraid of the responsibility or consequences? Now think about this. Is there an area in your life where you might feel stuck or passive, waiting for someone else to make the decision for you? Now, what happens when you imagine taking full responsibility for that area? Now think about that. Become aware of the thoughts, the feelings surrounding that.

Speaker 1:

Another one is are you staying in situations that feel safe but unfulfilling? Now do you find yourself in a job, relationships, these routines that offer security but not fulfillment? What might happen if you step out of that comfort zone? Another one is do you use distractions this could be social media, drinking, work to avoid facing difficult truths or emotions? How often do you engage in these activities that help you avoid confronting your deeper emotions or life's challenges? What would happen if you face those uncomfortable feelings instead? Here's another one to maybe help you look at your own patterns.

Speaker 1:

These are some questions that I have come up with that I use from time to time just to look at my own life, to gauge, to get some more data, as I like to say. One is do you feel a sense of freedom in your life or do you feel like you're living according to what life has thrown at you? Do you believe that your life is happening to you, or do you feel empowered to create and change the direction of your life. This is really being more of an active participant than just kind of living on an autopilot. When we live on autopilot, we are just living with what life throws at us and we are not realizing that we are actually the creators of our own life.

Speaker 1:

Sartre's philosophy doesn't offer an easy solution or a confronting escape. Doesn't offer an easy solution or a confronting escape. Instead, it challenges us to confront the uncomfortable truth that meaning comes from within and that we are the ones responsible for shaping it. We're free to live authentically or not, but how we choose to live determines whether our lives are meaningful or not. Sartre's existentialism shows us that life has no inherent meaning. No one is going to give you a purpose.

Speaker 1:

The beauty and the challenge is that you get to decide what your life means. Meaning isn't something handed to us or discovered through outside forces. It's created through our choices, our actions and our engagement. The next time you find yourself questioning your place in the world, remember that the search for meaning is in your hands. It's not a destination. It's the journey, the decisions you make and how you live out those choices authentically. So that's today's episode, a quick snapshot about existentialism, from Jean-Paul Sartre's philosophy that the meaning of our life is what we make it through our actions, through our choices, through responsibility of those, and stop denying our freedom and our responsibility. I hope this topic was exciting for you as it was for me. If you found it helpful, please share it. Someone else might want to hear this Again. My name is Shane. This is man Uncaved. We need to come out of hiding.