Seriousness and the Escape from Freedom

Being and Nothingness

This thematic thread follows how people treat values as external facts to avoid responsibility for sustaining them.

increasing

Bearing strength in each event

decreasing

Values as Demands Values as Demands from "Being and Nothingness". Values as Demands Claims on Freedom Values appear as demands that require a foundation.

Values as Demands from "Being and Nothingness". Values as Demands Claims on Freedom Values appear as demands that require a foundation.

Values as Demands Claims on Freedom Values appear as demands that require a foundation. They cannot receive their authority from mere existence without ceasing to be values. Dependence A free being recognizes value by acting, yet this dependence makes value's authority uneasy and contingent.

Everyday Morality Everyday Morality from "Being and Nothingness". Everyday Morality Values in the World Ordinary conduct encounters values as ready demands: rules, signs, expectations, and social judgments.

Everyday Morality from "Being and Nothingness". Everyday Morality Values in the World Ordinary conduct encounters values as ready demands: rules, signs, expectations, and social judgments.

Everyday Morality Values in the World Ordinary conduct encounters values as ready demands: rules, signs, expectations, and social judgments. Their origin in freedom is not usually noticed. Reassurance The world seems to provide its own moral order, shielding people from the fact that their acts sustain that order.

The Serious Man The Serious Man from "Being and Nothingness". The Serious Man Objectified Obligations The serious person treats values as things in the world and defines himself through the objects or roles to which he is…

The Serious Man from "Being and Nothingness". The Serious Man Objectified Obligations The serious person treats values as things in the world and defines himself through the objects or roles to which he is…

The Serious Man Objectified Obligations The serious person treats values as things in the world and defines himself through the objects or roles to which he is committed. Bad Faith By attributing his obligations to external reality, he hides the freedom that gives them meaning and urgency.

The Cost of Sincerity The Cost of Sincerity from "Being and Nothingness". The Cost of Sincerity Impossible Coincidence Sincerity demands that a person be exactly what he is.

The Cost of Sincerity from "Being and Nothingness". The Cost of Sincerity Impossible Coincidence Sincerity demands that a person be exactly what he is.

The Cost of Sincerity Impossible Coincidence Sincerity demands that a person be exactly what he is. But consciousness cannot coincide with itself as an in-itself. Reversal The effort to become an object for oneself repeats the evasions of bad faith, turning sincerity into another escape from freedom.

Values Without Excuse Values Without Excuse from "Being and Nothingness". Values Without Excuse Free Foundation The person who recognizes that values depend on freedom cannot appeal to them as an external justification for action.

Values Without Excuse from "Being and Nothingness". Values Without Excuse Free Foundation The person who recognizes that values depend on freedom cannot appeal to them as an external justification for action.

Values Without Excuse Free Foundation The person who recognizes that values depend on freedom cannot appeal to them as an external justification for action. Ethical Consequence The world still makes claims, but the agent must assume responsibility for how those claims are interpreted and sustained.

Part Two, Chapter One, Section III, account of value

Part One, Chapter One, Section V, discussion of immediate life

Part One, Chapter One, discussion of seriousness

Part One, Chapter Two, Section II

Part One, Chapter One, discussion of anguish and ethics