Which term describes the inauthenticity of not accepting the freedom to take responsibility for our own actions?

• A. Existential Guilt
• B. Bad Faith
• C. Existential Vacuum
• D. Freedom

Answer: (B)

Bad Faith describes the inauthentic avoidance of accepting the freedom to choose and take responsibility for one’s actions. In existential thought, we are fundamentally free, and with that freedom comes the burden of responsibility for our choices. Bad faith happens when a person pretends that their actions are determined by external factors or roles, thereby denying their own freedom and failing to own what they have chosen. For example, claiming “I had no choice” in a situation where one actually did, or clinging to a fixed role (like “I’m just a waiter”) to avoid making a different life decision, embodies this avoidance.

Existential guilt is more about the remorse that comes after recognizing one hasn’t acted authentically, not the denial of freedom itself. Existential vacuum refers to a sense of meaninglessness or emptiness, not the specific evasive stance about personal responsibility. Freedom is the capacity to choose, which is what bad faith tries to evade.