Freedom, Nothingness, Nihilism

One of Sartre's better-known statements 'We are condemned to be free', is an overdramatic mischaracterization of his central thesis. There is no 'condemnation' preceding Existence, so the more accurate formulation is simply 'We are free'. Freedom, for Sartre, is the irreducible nature of Existence--each of us is constantly choosing how to be, even whether or not 'to be happy', or 'to be rational', two of the most prominent modes of being that are traditionally characterized as pre-inscribed in human nature. However, one frequently attempts to obscure this absolute Freedom, by recourse to objective conditions as motivations of action, e. g. physical circumstances, a priori essences, divine will, etc. This hiding of one's Freedom, not merely to others, but to oneself, Sartre terms 'Bad Faith'. Now, since this Freedom constitutes Selfhood for Sartre, Bad Faith is a mode of self-denial, which, in Nietzschean terms, is a manifestation of Nihilism. Indeed, even though Sartre himself never addresses the issue, Nietzsche's 'Slave Morality' can be understood as an expression of Bad Faith--it entails the erection of subjective creations, e. g. God, values, as self-subsisting entities to serve as objective grounds of one's actions. So, whereas for Heidegger, 'Nihilism' consists in the forgetting of Being, for Sartre it can be said to consist in the forgetting of Nothingness.