MODULE Introduction to the Philosophy of Human

CHAPTER 13: HUMAN PERSONS AS ORIENTED TOWARDS THEIR IMPENDING

DEATH

Objectives:

a. Recognize the meaning of his/her own life

b. Enumerate the objectives he/she really wants to achieve and
to define the projects he/she really wants to do in his/her life
c. Explain the meaning of death

d. Reflect on the meaning of his/her own life

TIME TO LEARN!

The meaning of life, or the answer to the question: "What is the meaning of life?",
pertains to the significance of living or existence in general. Many other related
questions include: "Why are we here?", "What is life all about?", or "What is the purpose
of existence?" There have been many proposed answers to these questions from many
different cultural and ideological backgrounds. The search for life's meaning has
produced much philosophical, scientific, theological, and metaphysical speculation
throughout history. Different people and cultures believe different things for the answer
to this question.
The meaning of life as we perceive it is derived from philosophical and religious
contemplation of, and scientific inquiries about existence, social ties, consciousness,
and happiness. Many other issues are also involved, such as symbolic
meaning, ontology, value, purpose, ethics, good and evil, free will, the existence of one
or multiple gods, conceptions of God, the soul, and the afterlife.
Scientific contributions focus primarily on describing related empirical facts about
the universe, exploring the context and parameters concerning the "how" of life. Science
also studies and can provide recommendations for the pursuit of well-being and a
related conception of morality. An alternative, humanistic approach poses the question,
"What is the meaning of my life?"
Any organism that is said to breathe and feel with its senses is said to be alive.
Plants, animals, organisms, and humans are endowed with this concept of life. Hence
there is said to be life on earth. But life is not permanent and anything which is alive will

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decay and die someday. It is said, "Everything which takes birth has to die one day". So,
what is the significance of such a temporary life?
What is the purpose of living? what is to be achieved through living differs from
individual to individual. Personal responses to situations and the thought processes
involved in handling issues and problem-solving capabilities differ from person to person.
The purpose of life is to live and let live. The societal living is possible when there
are communal harmony and feeling of brotherhood among its members. The institutions
of family and marriage contribute to the
harmonious living in a society. Peaceful
coexistence is the key to a successful life.
Society is divided into haves and has
not from time immemorial and since money
was brought into vogue. This great divide is
the cause of many despairs in life. If people
learn to cooperate and be generous and
imbibe philanthropic attitude toward the
needy then one can not only be happy but
also make others happy.
Life, when led to the full, has to end one day. So, what is the destination it has to
reach when the soul leaves the body? For believers and the devout, the aim is to become
one with GOD or any superpower or the Ultimate. Every human being seeks salvation
after having led a full life. He searches for the sublime bliss and union with the Almighty
as he fully believes that life is GOD's gift to man and is only complete with the reunion
with God.
Life - comprises individuals, living beings, assignable to groups (taxa). Each
individual is composed of one or more minimal living
units, called cells, and is capable of transformation
of carbon-based and
other compounds (metabolism), growth, and
participation in reproductive acts.
Life-forms present on Earth today have
evolved from ancient common ancestors through the
generation of hereditary variation and natural
selection. Although some studies state that life may
have begun as early as 4.1 billion years ago, it can
be traced to fossils dated to 3.5–3.7 billion years
ago, which is still only slightly younger than Earth, which gravitationally accreted into
a planet about 4.5 billion years ago. But this is life as a whole.

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Philosophers and Death

In antiquity, Epicureanism literally pulverizes and removes the concept of death:

death is nothing. The position of Epicurus is updated to modern times, for Sartre, who
spurned the idea of death, as Heidegger tries to find her deep in our experience.

Bits of Latin, death means the end of life, the physical cessation of life. If this
definition is known to us all, it can be enlarged. Indeed, in its medical sense, it is the end
of brain function defined by a flat electroencephalogram.

Definitions of Death According to Some Philosophers

– Plato

[Death], “Is this something that the separation of soul from the body? It died when the
body is separate from the soul remains alone, apart, with himself, and when the soul,
separated from the body, left alone, apart, with itself “…

– Epicurus

“Familiarize yourself with the idea that death is nothing to us, as all good and evil lie in
sensation, gold, death is the complete denial of the latter […]. Thus, the sore that is
most thrilling is nothing for us, since as long as we exist, death is not, and that death is
where we are not.”

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– Montaigne

“That to philosophize is to learn to die.”

– Hegel

“Death, if we want to name and this unreality, is the most dangerous thing […]. This is
not the life that recoils in horror at the death and preserves pure destruction, but life is
death, and remains even in death, which is the life of the mind. ”

– Schopenhauer

“Death is the moment of liberation from a narrow and uniform individuality, which, far
from the inner substance of our being, is rather as a kind of aberration. ”

– Heidegger

“This means that one end by the death does not mean, for human reality, being-in-my-
purpose be-finished, it means the end for a being who is the being that exists. Death is
a way of being human reality that assumes, as it is: When a human comes to life, it is
already old enough to die. ”

– Sartre

[Death] “Not only the project that destroyed all projects and that destroyed itself […]. It is
the triumph of the perspective of others on the point of view I am myself. ”

The Human Person as a Being-for-Death

What is death?

- It is the act or process of dying which involves

the shutting down of the body's physical,
sensory and mental functions. This process
can take minutes or months, depending on
what is going on inside the person's body.

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- The German Philosopher Martin Heidegger calls man a “being-for-death”. Death

is a certainty. Only the when is a big question mark.

In death, human existence ends. Death is thought of as an event where man is

no longer possible. It is a point where all man’s potentialities shall have been
completed. Death is an own-most possibility, and it is the fulfillment of man’s being, the
completion of his life.
Memento Mori

- It is a Latin phrase that means,

"Remember you are mortal!"
- In ancient times, the phrase was
repeated by a slave boy who walked
behind a war hero returning to the
streets of Rome in a triumphant march.

The Existentialist Philosophers accept man

as finite—his life having an ending. They say that the real death that lies ahead of a
man is the possibility of himself as not being at all (John Wild, “Existentialist Ethics:
Integrity and Decision,” The Challenge of Existentialism, Bloomington: Indiana
University Pres, 1955, p. 119).

Death is a typically human event, not just a biological occurrence.

- It is a separating of body and soul, but it is not just the body that dies, it is the
whole man.
- It is difficult to talk of the very moment of death, since some people who had
been there, did not talk of their experience.
- There are some written accounts of such experiences and from these we get
glimpses of the next life.

Elisabeth Kübler-Ross’s Stages of Dying

According to Elisabeth Kübler-Ross we go through five

emotional stages of dying: denial and isolation, anger,
bargaining, depression, and acceptance.

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1. Denial and Isolation is where the person denies that death is really going to take
place. He has difficulty believing that he is so close to death;
and he refuses to accept that anything could be wrong with
him. This is a common reaction to terminal illness. However,
denial is usually only a temporary defense and is eventually
replaced with increased acceptance when the person is
confronted with such matters as financial considerations,
unfinished business, and worry about surviving family
members.

2. Anger or Resentment is where the dying person

recognizes that denial can no longer be maintained. Denial often gives way to anger,
resentment, rage and envy. The dying person’s question
is, “Why me? Why not someone else? It’s not fair!” At this
point, the person becomes increasingly difficult to care for as
anger may become displaced and projected onto physicians,
nurses, family members, and even God. The realization of
loss is great, and those who symbolize life, energy, and
competent functioning are especially salient targets of the
dying person’s resentment and jealousy.

3. Bargaining or Negotiation is where the person

develops the hope that death can somehow be postponed or
delayed. Some persons enter into a bargaining or
negotiation—often with God—as they try to delay their death.
The person is saying, “I understand I’m going to die, but if I
could just have more time I will…” In exchange for a few
more days, weeks, months of life, the person promises to
lead a reformed life dedicated to God or to the service of
others.

4. Depression is where the dying person comes to

accept the certainty of death. He says, “I’m so miserable,
why bother with anything?” At this point, a period of
depression or preparatory grief may appear. The dying
person may become silent, refuse visitors, and spend

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much of the time crying or grieving.

5. Acceptance or Resignation is where the person

develops a sense of peace; an acceptance of one’s fate; and,
in many cases, a desire to be left alone. He says “It’s going to
be okay. I can’t fight it so I may as well prepare for it.” This
stage may be virtually absent of feelings and physical pain.
This is described as the end of the dying struggle, the final
resting stage before death.

Some individuals, though, struggle until the end, desperately trying to hang onto
their lives. Acceptance of death never comes for them. Experts believe that the harder
individuals fight to avoid the inevitable death they face and the more they deny it, the
more difficulty they will have in dying peacefully and in a dignified way.

Denial of Death

Man’s Perverted Will to Live

According to German Philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer there is no reason to be
afraid of death because it is actually the ultimate aim and purpose of life. Life is a
constant process of dying. The past, when you really think about it, is just a repository of
death—a heap of events that no longer exist and are gone forever and are irretrievable.
Death is a welcome relief from life which is supposedly a constant source of suffering
and frustration. Be that as it may, we cling on to life because we have this perverted
"will-to-live", which—contrary to our best interests—keeps us from embracing our true
destiny which is death.
Immortality Systems

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Immortality Systems are non-rational belief structures that give us a way to

believe we are immortal. These systems demonstrate that we humans are the only
creatures who comprehend that we are going to die and that we are also the only
creatures who can imagine or believe that we are capable of living forever.
1. Immortality through culture. We identify ourselves with a group, class, clan,
profession, tribe, race, or nation that lives on into the indefinite future, with us
somehow a part of it.
2. Immortality-through-art. Artists [and actually even non-artists] foresee their
work enduring forever, and when it does, they are immortalized, too.
For the German Philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, man in all instances needs the
unity of passion and reason, as exemplified in art, in order to survive human life. Art is
the deification of man thus, it does not teach man resignation. Art is to be understood as
the will to live eternally. Thus, the aesthetic man says no to the pessimistic tendencies
of life, to the ugly degradation of his existence, to his disharmony and abrupt
degeneration.
3. Immortality through religion. Most religions claim that, by adopting proper
beliefs and/or practices, a person can appease the Divine and be chosen to
enjoy some kind of everlasting life. You either live on as part of the cosmic
energy or in heaven or maybe in hell.
4. Immortality-through-wealth. The more money and resources, the more our
legacy and devices you pass on to the next generation. You can donate to an
institution in the hope that it will emblazon your name on the front of a building
or you can build a monument to yourself.
5. Immortality-through-relations. This is reassuring ourselves that we will live
on in the hearts of those who knew us. This strategy assumes certain
sentimentality on the part of our loved ones that may or may not be there.

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For further reading, please refer to the links below:

https://www.globalresearch.ca/meaning-human-life/5687926

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meaning_of_life

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/what-is-the-purpose-of-human-life

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/death-definition/

https://www.philosophersmag.com/opinion/17-death-and-its-concept

https://www.the-philosophy.com/death-philosophy-definitions

References:
https://www.tutorialspoint.com/what-is-the-purpose-of-human-life

https://www.globalresearch.ca/meaning-human-life/5687926

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meaning_of_life

https://www.the-philosophy.com/death-philosophy-definitions

https://www.philosophersmag.com/opinion/17-death-and-its-concept

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/death-definition/

https://study.com/academy/lesson/what-are-the-stages-of-dying-overview-of-kubbler-rosss-5-stages.html

https://www.iep.utm.edu/immortal/

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