Written 10/30/10:

In essence, Sartre is ultimately concerned with freedom, not in the context of the individual self, rather with freedom or authenticity as experienced by the collective whole and the relationship of authenticity and others in society. In his book, Being and Nothingness, Sartre attempts to dismiss the illusion of “being.” By the end of this work, the “failure to be” sets the standard for a host of choices of lifestyle.

The lowest choices, in Sartre’s opinion, are those that confuse being with matter. They are the choices that often utilize material wealth and possession as a means of happiness and stability. Above these life choices are those that allow the realization that being is less tangible and less material, yet even in this concept, there is the ever-present illusion of being in that one becomes both the subject and the object. Yet, there is a higher mode of “life passion” that places its own freedom as an end, rather than aiming for self-objectification. In this state, there is the glimmer of authenticity, which is no longer attached to this delusion of being. However, authenticity is not in itself a condition, but it can only be understood against the context of a present state of inauthenticity.

This problem with authenticity is characterized in the political sphere through the regret and remorse, or the apprehension of regret and remorse, of the middle class. Remorse disconnects an individual with his or her own past, while the fear of remorse allows one to be afraid of the future. This concept of regret and fear of it is characteristic of Sartre’s works where his heroes long for the moment they become “marked men” and must free themselves from their own individuality and their past along with it. Through his works and novels, it is clear that authenticity is composed of a faithfulness to the present and an utter disregard for the future and that authenticity is seemingly dependent on historical circumstances. Sartre takes a Kantian view that freedom is not an individual construct but is one that takes into consideration the freedom of others. It is the attitude of the self that determines the attitude towards others. This new psychological idea of self-justification and “mauvaise foi” against privilege is how Sartre transforms his earlier ideals into a political theory. In a sense, authenticity is an abandonment of the ego and privilege to recognize that one is “made up of everyone else” and no better or worse than any.