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HUMAN PERSONS as
ORIENTED TOWARDS
THEIR IMPENDING
DEATH
GIAN CARLO C. VILLAGRACIA
Gener al Mar i ano Al var ez T echni cal HS
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TO THE LEARNERS
Here are some reminders as you use this module:
 Use the module with care especially in turning each page.
 Be reminded to answer the Pre-Test before moving on to the
Learning Module.
 Read and comprehend the directions in every exercises.
 Observe honesty in answering the tests and exercises.
 Do not put unnecessary mark/s on any part of this
material.
 Try to finish a given activity before proceeding to the next.
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Introduction to
the Philosophy
of the
Human Person
Martin Heidegger's Dasein
GIAN CARLO C. VILLAGRACIA
Copyright 2019
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WHAT IS THIS MODULE ALL ABOUT?
This module serves as a learning resource material in understanding the
target competency expected in the curriculum.
TOPIC
Martin Heidegger's Dasein
CONTENT STANDARD
The learner understands human beings as oriented towards their
impending death
PERFORMANCE STANDARD
The learner writes a philosophical reflection on the meaning of
his/her own life
LEARNING COMPETENCY
PPT11/12-IIh-8.1: Recognize the meaning of his/her own life
The presented activities or exercises and texts are developed
in order to meet the following objectives:
1. Define Heidegger’s Dasein concept
2. Articulate the meaning of life through acceptance of death
3. Realize that you only live once
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PRE-TEST
Read the following items carefully. Write the
letter of your answer in a separate sheet of
paper.
1. The term dasein or being-towards- death is coined by A.
B.
C.
D.
Soren Kierkegaard
Friedrich Nietzsche
Martin Heidegger
Jean Paul Sartre
2. In Martin Heidegger’s concept of death, he focuses on the ___________
rather than death itself!
A.
B.
C.
D.
Human Person as the subject
Fear of death
Anxiety about death
Physical sickness
3. Martin Heidegger’s notion of existential anxiety
understood by the infamous line, “________________”
A.
B.
C.
D.
can
be
best
Live today, die tomorrow
We are born to die
Live life to the fullest
We only live once
4. Death can be understood in two defining factors, ______ and ______.
A.
B.
C.
D.
Life and Love
Hope and Despair
Fear and Anxiety
Wonder and Change
5. This matter has no particular object in the concept of death, a feeling
of non-beingness.
A.
B.
C.
D.
Fear
Hope
Despair
Anxiety
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6. This matter has a particular object, somehow a physical feeling
A.
B.
C.
D.
Fear
Hope
Despair
Anxiety
7. It is simply a kind of talk “which the herd or masses conduct and it
has a character of triviality.”
A.
B.
C.
D.
Idle
Idle
Idle
Idle
walk
talk
speak
look
8. According to the philosophy of death, there are two ways to face
death, _______ and _________.
A.
B.
C.
D.
Escape and Accept
Ignore and Runaway
Respect and Honor
All of the above
9. What do you think is the best thing to do before you die?
A.
B.
C.
D.
Live life to the fullest
Accept death and face it with your whole heart
Live an authentic way of life
All of the above
10. In the concept of death, Martin Heidegger teaches us thatA.
B.
C.
D.
Death
Death
Death
Death
is
is
is
is
something we should be afraid of
the end of our lives
a certain reality, a fulfilment of man’s life
a joke, and the joke is on us
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REWINDING THE PAST
Uncertainty of Death
VS Leap of Faith
Death is the only way towards
the otherworld – a place created by
man where suffering will end and life
will be better. This is not true
according to Nietzsche. This is just
an illusion created by man. We shall
know the true meaning of Christian
way of life – our lives should not be
doomed forever looking towards the
otherworld. Life must be lived before
death comes – so live it according to
your desires not with belief systems.
Death is not measurable by
reason alone. We do not know what’s
inside the realm of death. But what we
can do is to prepare for something
greater than death – living a true
Christian way of life. Death is the
fulfilment of life, and for Kierkegaard,
we have to take a risk. Let us not
settle on the things we know; but let
this
knowledge
strengthen
our
conviction and take a leap of faith: that
there is a reward after death, new life!
We have seen both sides of the coin:
a philosophy of death from an atheist and a devout Christian
- two extreme realities that render the meaning of death and life.
What have you realized about death and life?
What is death, for you?
What is the meaning of your own personal life?
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PLAYING THE CONCEPT
BEING-TOWARDS-DEATH
This is the literal translation of the word DASEIN – a philosophical
term coined by our philosopher for this module, MARTIN HEIDEGGER.
Martin Heidegger stands in between the philosophy of Nietzsche and
Kierkegaard though all of them point out one conclusion: living life to the
fullest! He stands in between in such a way that he focuses on the subject
matter itself which is the human person rather than focusing on death
alone. He is known for his term dasein which speaks about us, human
beings, who exist to die soon. This dasein is a human being that exists –
part and parcel of our existence is our death, simply because we are not socalled human beings if we do not experience death. Therefore, his major
work is to put the human person at the center of all and innate with this
attribute is the reality of death.
We are born to die. Our death is certain once we are born – this is the
existential anxiety that Heidegger philosophizes towards the concept of
death. For Heidegger, death is just a fulfilment of our being and part of this
process is the existential anxiety that he talks about. Death is not a thing,
not an object, but rather an instance of being non-being.
Realizing to be a non-being is unimaginable. To think of dying is
always connected with the feeling of fear. We are afraid to die.
But Martin Heidegger is asking us, “What are you afraid of?”
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PAUSE AND TRY AN ACTIVITY
Facing your fears!
This activity is to examine yourself if fear exists in you.
Give eight (8) things that you feared most in your life
– physical things/objects.
Write your answers honestly and sincerely.
What are your fears?
What are the ways to overcome your fear?
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PAUSE AND ANALYZE THE ACTIVITY
The previous activity proves that a human person like you can
overcome fears in different ways conveniently. You have your own
way on how to possibly win over your fears.
But, how about your fear of DEATH?
Are you afraid to die?
Have you felt the chills
when you imagine yourself leaving this world?
Have you ever felt the terror
of being buried 6-feet below the ground?
Have you felt the loneliness
that your family may experience when you’re gone?
I believe your answers are all YES – as a human person, it is
natural for us to feel scared about the notion of death. But have you
realized the difference between your fears about physical objects and
your fear towards death?
Is it just the concept of fear? Or is there something else that we
felt towards death?
How are we going to conquer our fear of death?
Let us dig deeper on the philosophy of Martin Heidegger to find
out what it means to live and to die. Heidegger’s dasein will help us
reflect on our attitude and approach towards death.
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PLAYING THE CONCEPT ONCE AGAIN!
It is not a matter of differentiating what to fear but let’s focus on
how to feel about death – what are we afraid of?
According to a Christian existentialist Paul Tillich, “Anxiety is the
existential awareness of non-being.” Now, for Martin Heidegger, the dasein
itself is our existential awareness that non-being is part of our very being as
a human person. With this idea, we can come up with an appropriate
differentiation: the difference between ANXIETY and FEAR.
What is the difference between anxiety and fear when it comes to the
concept of death?
DEATH
FEAR
ANXIETY
“Has an object towards death”
Perhaps fear on the manner of death
like getting gunshots, falling off from
a building, or having vehicular
accident
“Has no particular object”
It is just a feeling of non-beingness.
We cannot identify an object of
anxiety when it comes to the
realization of death.
- conclusion It is always constant that there is an
object of fear towards death – we fear
death because there is a physical
pain that may occur.
Anxiety is far different from fear – it
is just a feeling of what if’s: “What if I
die? What would happen? What
about my family? Etc, etc.
The ultimate question now is…
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For Martin Heidegger, there are two-ways on how we face death.
First is an escape from the anxiety of death which is a result of
Heidegger’s notion of Idle Talk. This idle talk is simply a kind of talk “which
the herd or masses conduct and it has a character of triviality.” Death is
present in all aspects – we see death every day in TV news, we see death in
common movies, we see and hear death which seems to be very common
already with other people. Death seems to be a normal thing in peoples’ lives
and we never bother to talk deeply about: rather, does an idle talk about
death.
In simplest terms, we escape death by not talking about it seriously. A
lot of people refuse to talk about what death is all about and that’s the first
thing how we face death – which is somehow contrary to what the dasein
tells us.
Second way to face death is to ACCEPT death. Yes, death is common
to us and we see every single day. Thousands of people die in each hour of
the day and the truth is we cannot escape it.
Therefore, as the dasein dictates, we shall accept death even if it
pours out the bitterness in life. Death is painful indeed, but in order for us
to live an authentic life; we shall accept death knowing that this may occur
anytime soon. Anxiety about death must be cherished every single day, and
realize that we live only once.
LET’S STOP AND APPLY WHAT WE HAVE LEARNED
A simple reflection for us as students of philosophy who tries to
fathom the gaze of death in all of us: death is a reality of man – we cannot
escape it, we just need to accept it.
The challenge for us is how to accept the reality of death. Here’s how:
o We shall be ready before death comes – we shall never have
regrets when the time comes for us – don’t be afraid to die!
o We shall do our best every single day, knowing that one day all
the things that we do shall perish and somehow we shall leave a
mark in this world about the goodness of our personhood
o We shall always bear in mind that life is lived once – the
meaning of life is useless without doing something remarkable
before death.
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POST-TEST
Read the following items carefully. Write the
letter of your answer in a separate sheet of
paper.
1. The term dasein or being-towards- death is coined by A.
B.
C.
D.
Soren Kierkegaard
Friedrich Nietzsche
Martin Heidegger
Jean Paul Sartre
2. In Martin Heidegger’s concept of death, he focuses on the ___________
rather than death itself!
A.
B.
C.
D.
Human Person as the subject
Fear of death
Anxiety about death
Physical sickness
3. Martin Heidegger’s notion of existential anxiety
understood by the infamous line, “________________”
A.
B.
C.
D.
can
be
best
Live today, die tomorrow
We are born to die
Live life to the fullest
We only live once
4. Death can be understood in two defining factors, ______ and ______.
A.
B.
C.
D.
Life and Love
Hope and Despair
Fear and Anxiety
Wonder and Change
5. This matter has no particular object in the concept of death, a feeling
of non-beingness.
A.
B.
C.
D.
Fear
Hope
Despair
Anxiety
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6. This matter has a particular object, somehow a physical feeling
A.
B.
C.
D.
Fear
Hope
Despair
Anxiety
7. It is simply a kind of talk “which the herd or masses conduct and it
has a character of triviality.”
A.
B.
C.
D.
Idle
Idle
Idle
Idle
walk
talk
speak
look
8. According to the philosophy of death, there are two ways to face
death, _______ and _________.
A.
B.
C.
D.
Escape and Accept
Ignore and Runaway
Respect and Honor
All of the above
9. What do you think is the best thing to do before you die?
A.
B.
C.
D.
Live life to the fullest
Accept death and face it with your whole heart
Live an authentic way of life
All of the above
10. In the concept of death, Martin Heidegger teaches us thatA.
B.
C.
D.
Death
Death
Death
Death
is
is
is
is
something we should be afraid of
the end of our lives
a certain reality, a fulfilment of man’s life
a joke, and the joke is on us
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LET’S REPLAY!
 Martin Heidegger coined the idea of being-towards-death or the
dasein
 Existential anxiety is about the realization about death as
 The fear of death has an object
 The anxiety over death is just a feeling of non-beingness
 There are two ways to face the fear and anxiety of death: escape
or accept
 Idle talk is a way of making death a common topic in every day
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Answer Key
Pre-Test
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
C
A
B
C
D
A
B
A
D
C
Post-Test
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
C
A
B
C
D
A
B
A
D
C
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REFERENCES
Vinzons, M. P. (2016). Introduction to the Philosophy of the Human Person. Quezon City: Vibal Group,
Inc.
Media Sources
https://www.philosophytalk.org/blog/heidegger
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This module maybe adopted, modified and
reproduced for educational purposes with appropriate
credit to the author.
For inquiries, feedback and suggestions, please
contact the author through the Division Learning
resource Supervisor at Tel. No. _________________ and/or
email address ________________ @deped.gov.ph
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