Bad Faith Good Faith

Preface

Preface Although normally attributed to one author-who customarily and courteously accepts full responsibility for the work she or he has written-any book is the product of a community of cooperation and support. The luxury of scholarship and authorship, though requiring selfdiscipline , resolve, perseverance, and periods of lonely isolation , would not be possible without the shared concern, assistance , friendship, love, and often sacrifice of others. An author can assume responsibility for his or her work without asking others to share it, but an author cannot fairly take credit for a work without giving credit to others. The publication of a book is renewed testimony in support of Sartre's developed recognition that, far from simply threatening "being for-itself" or individual freedom, the Other may enhance or nurture it. I realize that the number of people or groups to whom I want to give credit is relatively large and that, by mentioning their names, I run the risk of overlooking or slighting others who also have given help or support. But life cannot be lived creatively without risk, and to me it is more important to acknowledge some people personally, at the price of forgetting a few, than to give only lump or anonymous credit. My unmentioned helpers may at least note the generosity of my intent. Because of history and recent circumstances, I wish first, and again, to acknowledge my debt to my parents, Fred and Phyllis Santoni, who, deprived of a university education themix Copyrighted Material x Preface selves, demonstrated the foresight, industry, determination, and sacrifice to enable their children to have what they did not have by way of early opportunity. Without their commitment and encouragement, my present career and opportunities would have likely remained only dreams and awkwardly formulated aspirations. It is my deep regret that my father, who suffered the torment of terminal cancer while I was writing the last chapter of this book, is not alive to view its completion. But I shall cherish the more important completion of having spent a number of long weekends in conversation with him and my mother during his final painful and restless months. In part, at least, I offer this book in his memory. Next, I express my profound gratitude to my wife, Margo, and our six children-Christina, Marcia, Andrea, Juanita, Jonathan , and Sondra. Subjected to both the beauties and the trials of academic existence, they have together responded with scarcely credible love and support-even criticism when deserved ! Although our meal table has not always been a model of organization, it has been a vital center for lively discussion and vehement exchange of ideas among family members alone or among family members with students and colleagues, present or past. It is hard to imagine how anyone could contribute more patiently and selflessly to the sustenance of an academic home, with all its erratic and unpredictable demands, than has my wife, Margo. She has done this with "amazing grace" and an uplifting spirit, while knowing who she is and preserving her autonomy. Without her I could not have done what I have done to this point, however inadequate or humble that may turn out to be. As a mother, life-partner, friend, fellow activist, and human being, she merits sainthood as much as anyone I know. Her moral spirit and penetrating intellect have kept me in place. And our children have gladly joined in testing my inclinations Copyrighted Material Preface xi to endorse Sartre's emphasis on autonomy and an ethics of "no excuses." With and through them I have matured. I wish also to express my indebtedness to fellow scholars who nurtured my developing interest in Sartre (in spite of my dominant training in Analytic philosophy) and encouraged my continuing probes into the ontolOgical roots of some of Sartre's perplexing views, through dialogue and critical exchange in professional colloquia and published discussion. In particular, I thank Phyllis Morris, Maurice Natanson, Joe Catalano, and Karsten Harries, who were not only among the first to engage me concerning my early writings on Same but, in one fashion or another, have continued that creative dialectic with me since then. In the same vein, I express appreciation to members of the Sartre Circle, the Sartre Society of North America, and the Society for Phenomenology, who either at specific group meetings or at meetings of the American Philosophical Association, listened to what I had to say...