Philosophical Libertarianism

Question 1

No God

Answer 1

• God does not exist, there is no higher power controlling us
• He said we are condemned to be free
• For Sartre, freedom is both a gift and a burden

Question 2

Self-conscious

Answer 2

• Humans have free will because we are self aware, unlike animals who just exist without self awareness
• Because we can think about ourselves, we can imagine different future possibilities and make choices
• This creates a ‘gap’ between what’s happening in the world and how we choose to respond
• we choose from different actions which gives us freedom

Question 3

Bad faith

Answer 3

• Free will can bring emotional pain - so to avoid this people will pretend like they aren’t free
• they blame their actions on their personality or situation
• He called this ‘bad faith’ - when people try to escape responsibility for their choices
• The fact that people avoid freedom is proof that they are free

Waiter demonstration
- waiter is playing a role
- as a waiter he knows he has freewill and can leave at any point
- by pretending he has no choice he is demonstrating bad faith

Question 4

Freedom is a gift and a curse

Answer 4

Sartre supported the idea that people are free, but said this freedom is both a gift and a curse
The gift = We can choose how we shape our own lives
The curse = We are fully responsible for those choices