Sartre's analysis of bad faith shows that agents can desire a particular self-image so strongly that they distort evidence to preserve it, even when the resulting belief is nominally unwelcome.

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Distort evidence(as how people maintain false self-images): To twist, ignore, or misinterpret facts and information in order to support a belief you want to keep, even if the facts don't actually support it.
Nominally unwelcome(in describing why the distorted belief seems contradictory): Something that you claim not to want or wouldn't admit to wanting, but that secretly appeals to you—the word 'nominally' means 'officially' or 'supposedly.'
Sartre(the main philosopher being discussed): Jean-Paul Sartre was a 20th-century French philosopher who argued that humans are fundamentally free to create their own meaning and identity, and that this freedom comes with responsibility.
agents(referring to people in this philosophical discussion): People, or more broadly, any thinking being capable of having beliefs and making decisions.
bad faith(Used to argue that rational delegation cannot fully discharge the believer's existential responsibility): Transferring the existential responsibility of a faith-commitment onto the relatively impersonal function of one's reason in order to avoid personal accountability for that commitment

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