www.shsph.blogspot.com HUMAN PERSONS as ORIENTED TOWARDS THEIR IMPENDING DEATH GIAN CARLO C. VILLAGRACIA Gener al Mar i ano Al var ez T echni cal HS 12 www.shsph.blogspot.com 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. www.shsph.blogspot.com 12 Introduction to the Philosophy of the Human Person Martin Heidegger's Dasein GIAN CARLO C. VILLAGRACIA Copyright 2019 1 www.shsph.blogspot.com 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 2 www.shsph.blogspot.com 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 3 www.shsph.blogspot.com 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 4 www.shsph.blogspot.com 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? 5 www.shsph.blogspot.com 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?” 6 www.shsph.blogspot.com 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? 7 www.shsph.blogspot.com 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. 8 www.shsph.blogspot.com 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… 9 www.shsph.blogspot.com 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. 10 www.shsph.blogspot.com 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 11 www.shsph.blogspot.com 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 12 www.shsph.blogspot.com 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 13 www.shsph.blogspot.com 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 14 www.shsph.blogspot.com 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 15 www.shsph.blogspot.com 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 16