In this contemporary classic, Lewis Gordon presents his iconic, detailed existential phenomenological investigation of antiblack racism as a form of Sartrean bad faith. Bad faith, the attitude in which human beings attempt to evade freedom and responsibility, is treated as a constant possibility of human existence. Antiblack racism, the attitude and practice that involves the construction of black people as fundamentally inferior and subhuman, is examined as an effort to evade the responsibilities of a human and humane world. Gordon argues that the concept of bad faith militates against any human science that is built upon a theory of human nature and as such offers an analysis of antiblack racism that stands as a challenge to our ordinary assumptions of what it means to be human.
A foundational text in black existentialism, this 30th anniversary edition includes a substantial introduction by Mabogo Moreto address the ongoing importance of Gordon’s thought in critiquing and resisting racist bad faith in our contemporary moment.
By:
Professor Lewis R. Gordon (Professor of Philosophy and Global Affairs)
Introduction by:
Mabogo Percy More
Imprint: Rowman & Littlefield
Country of Publication: United States
Edition: New edition
Dimensions:
Height: 216mm,
Width: 140mm,
Spine: 25mm
Weight: 454g
ISBN: 9781538143667
ISBN 10: 1538143666
Pages: 432
Publication Date: 26 February 2026
Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Prefaceby Lewis Gordon Introduction by Mabogo P. More Introduction: Why Bad Faith? Part 1: Bad Faith A ""Determined"" Attitude That Involves Lying to Ourselves The Irony of Belief Anguish The Elusiveness of Transcendence and the Comfort of Facticity What Am I to Me? Taking Ourselves Too Seriously The Body in Bad Faith ""Strong"" and ""Weak"" Bad Faith Some Critical Remarks How Is Bad Faith Possible? The Question of Authenticity Part 2: Logic of Racism, Racist Logic A Recent Theory Racialism, Racism, Racialists, and Racists Affective Dimensions of Racism and Race Part 3: Antiblack Racism Racism and Antiblack Racism White and Black Bodies in Bad Faith Black Antiblackness in an Antiblack World Exoticism: Antiblackness Under the Guise of Love Effeminacy: The Quality of Black Beings Antiblack Racism and Ontology Part 4: ""God"" in an Antiblack World An Antiblack Cosmogony ""Is God a White Racist?"" The White God and the Black Sufferer Ultimate Desire and Authenticity in an Antiblack World To Be Black, Faithful, and Suffering Part 5: Critical Encounters ""I-Thou"" Ethical Concerns Deconstruction Marxism Conclusion: The Living Dead Notes Bibliography Index
Lewis R. Gordon is Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor of Philosophy and Global Affairs and head of the Philosophy Department at the University of Connecticut. He lectures and is involved in political and artistic projects across the globe and holds appointments at universities and institutes in Senegal, South Africa, Jamaica, India, and France. He is also honorary president of the Global Center for Advanced Studies, distinguished scholar at The Most Honourable PJ Patterson Centre for Africa-Caribbean Advocacy at The University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica, and Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.
