The Sentinel Evening Post: Satre on Fuck Around and Find Out

Jean-Paul Sartre

Have you ever noticed how some people have an excuse for everything? They say, 'It's the way I was born,' or, 'My boss just hates me,' or, 'It's bad luck.' They blame the universe, their past, or their DNA for the state of their lives, because it's easier to be a victim of circumstance.

But according to Jean-Paul Sartre, this is an example of what he called bad faith. In his most famous line, Sartre said, 'existence precedes essence,' which means that you aren't born with a pre-written destiny. You are a blank canvas, and you are nothing more than the sum of your actions.

But possessing such immense and radical freedom is terrifying, because when there is no God, no fate, and no biological determinism, there is nothing to hide behind. I am the one pulling the strings. I am the architect of my life. So if somebody says, 'I had no choice,' they are hiding the immensity of their own freedom from themselves. They are lying to themselves.

If you choose to talk to those people, that is a choice. If you choose to go into work, that is a choice. If you choose to be mean and cruel, then don't be surprised when people stop inviting you to things. As the internet adage goes, 'If you f*** about, you'll find out.'

Radical freedom is terrifying, but also liberating. Because if you are the reason for all of this mess, you also have the power to get yourself out of it. And according to Sartre, we all have much more power to fix ourselves than we think.