Jean-Paul Sartre

In this course

Sartre's concept of bad faith—the self-deception by which people deny their freedom and responsibility—appears here as a framework for understanding online behavior, particularly how internet culture deploys irony, performed sincerity, and linguistic games to evade accountability. The readings invoke his thinking on authenticity and moral responsibility to critique both the performative dishonesty endemic to social media discourse and, conversely, to question whether mid-20th-century existentialist ethics retain purchase in contemporary digital spaces where the very conditions of selfhood and agency have shifted.

Background

Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre was a French philosopher, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and literary critic, considered a leading figure in 20th-century French philosophy and Marxism. Sartre was one of the key figures in the philosophy of existentialism. His work has influenced sociology, critical theory, post-colonial theory, and literary studies. He was awarded the 1964 Nobel Prize in Literature despite attempting to refuse it, saying that he always declined official honors and that "a writer should not allow himself to be turned into an institution."

Mentioned in 3 readings