Introduction to

Philosophy of the
Human Person
Quarter 2 – Module 4:
Human Person and Death
Personal Development
Alternative Delivery Mode
Quarter 2 – Module 4: Title
First Edition, 2020

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Introduction to
Philosophy of the
Human Person
Quarter 2 – Module 4:
Human Person and Death

Introductory Message
For the facilitator:
Welcome to the Introduction to Philosophy of the Human Person Alternative Delivery
Mode (ADM) Module on Human Person and Death!
This module was collaboratively designed, developed and reviewed by educators
both from public and private institutions to assist you, the teacher or facilitator in
helping the learners meet the standards set by the K to 12 Curriculum while
overcoming their personal, social, and economic constraints in schooling.
This learning resource hopes to engage the learners into guided and independent
learning activities at their own pace and time. Furthermore, this also aims to help
learners acquire the needed 21st century skills while taking into consideration their
needs and circumstances.
In addition to the material in the main text, you will also see this box in the body of
the module:

Notes to the Teacher

This contains helpful tips or strategies that
will help you in guiding the learners.

As a facilitator you are expected to orient the learners on how to use this module.
You also need to keep track of the learners' progress while allowing them to manage
their own learning. Furthermore, you are expected to encourage and assist the
learners as they do the tasks included in the module.

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For the learner:
Welcome to the Mathematics 7 Alternative Delivery Mode (ADM) Module on ( Lesson
Title) !
The hand is one of the most symbolized part of the human body. It is often used to
depict skill, action and purpose. Through our hands we may learn, create and
accomplish. Hence, the hand in this learning resource signifies that you as a learner
is capable and empowered to successfully achieve the relevant competencies and
skills at your own pace and time. Your academic success lies in your own hands!
This module was designed to provide you with fun and meaningful opportunities for
guided and independent learning at your own pace and time. You will be enabled to
process the contents of the learning resource while being an active learner.
This module has the following parts and corresponding icons:
This will give you an idea of the skills or
link the current lesson with the
What I Need to Know previous one.
What I Know In this portion, the new lesson will be
introduced to you in various ways such
as a story, a song, a poem, a problem
opener, an activity or a situation.
What’s In What’s New This section provides a brief discussion
of the lesson. This aims to help you
discover and understand new concepts
and skills.
What is It What’s More This comprises activities for
independent practice to solidify your
understanding and skills of the topic.
You may check the answers to the
What I Have Learned exercises using the Answer Key at the
What I Can Do end of the module.
competencies you are expected to learn This includes questions or blank
in the module. sentence/paragraph to be filled in to
process what you learned from the
This part includes an activity that aims lesson.
to check what you already know about
the lesson to take. If you get all the This section provides an activity which
answers correct (100%), you may decide will help you transfer your new
to skip this module. knowledge or skill into real life
situations or concerns.
This is a brief drill or review to help you

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This is a task which aims to evaluate
your level of mastery in achieving the
Assessment Additional learning competency.
Activities In this portion, another activity will be
given to you to enrich your knowledge
or skill of the lesson learned. This also
tends retention of learned concepts.
Answer Key
This contains answers to all activities in
 the module.

At the end of this module you will also find:

References This is a list of all sources used in developing this module.

The following are some reminders in using this module:

1. Use the module with care. Do not put unnecessary mark/s on any part of the
module. Use a separate sheet of paper in answering the exercises. 2. Don’t forget
to answer What I Know before moving on to the other activities included in the
module.
3. Read the instruction carefully before doing each task.
4. Observe honesty and integrity in doing the tasks and checking your answers.
5. Finish the task at hand before proceeding to the next.
6. Return this module to your teacher/facilitator once you are through with it.
If you encounter any difficulty in answering the tasks in this module, do not
hesitate to consult your teacher or facilitator. Always bear in mind that you are
not alone.
We hope that through this material, you will experience meaningful learning and
gain deep understanding of the relevant competencies. You can do it!

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What I Need to Know

In this module, learners like you will be philosophically oriented regarding a
sensitive topic everybody does not like always to talk about – death. Here, we will
treat death in an academic way while also allowing our own takes and insights to
interplay with the discussions. However, you are advised to have an objective
disposition regarding death to remove any negative impression that may affect your
readiness to understand death as a phenomenon.
Primarily, we will deal with the Phenomenological Notion of Death to give it definite
characterization and the Relation of Death with Authenticity upon which we will
come to realize the value of understanding death as a way to establish a more
meaningful existence.
Thus, after going through this module, you are expected to:
1. explain the phenomenological notion of death
2. give the characteristics of death
3. relate death with the concept of a good life based on authenticity
4. reflect on one’s own death
5. embrace death as a natural phenomenon

Notes to the Teacher

There may be cases where students are not ready to discuss this
topic. To prevent unwanted scenarios, orientation may be done
beforehand. Being knowledgeable about psychological dispositions
of learners is an advantage.

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What I Know
Write TRUE if you agree that the statement is correct but write FALSE if you think
the statement is incorrect and explain why the statement is wrong in the space
provided under each item.
______________ 1. Immortality can be achieved by man.
__________________________________________________________________
______________ 2. Death is impending.
 __________________________________________________________________
______________ 3. We can always design how we will die.
__________________________________________________________________
______________ 4. Two persons can totally share same experience of death
__________________________________________________________________ ______________
5. Death is one of the surest thing in the world.
__________________________________________________________________ ______________
6. We can always say that there is still time.
__________________________________________________________________
______________ 7. We waste our lives by living the life we don’t want.
__________________________________________________________________ ______________
8. Following the society would mean a good existence.
__________________________________________________________________ ______________
9. Death comes at the time we expect it will come.
__________________________________________________________________ ______________
10. Though we don’t know when we will die, we can prepare for it.
__________________________________________________________________

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Lesson
1 Death
What is your initial reaction when you read the title of this part of the
module? Is death really a terrifying phenomenon? If death is a dreadful thing, what
makes it fearsome?
On the other hand, death, as part of human reality, may have meaningful
messages. At this junction, we will try to uncover the mystery of death by
rationalizing its phenomenon so that we get to understand it better, accept it as part
of human nature, and treat it as a condition that allows us to create a meaningful
existence.
 What’s In
THOUGHT EXPERIMENT: Imagine the scenario below. Answer the questions using
3-5 sentences only.

You are lying in a hospital bed. You have a stage 4 colon cancer. You
have no problem in paying the bills since you are a rich man. But nobody,
except for the doctor and hospital staff, is with you. This is due to the fact
that you despised your family for not believing in you and left them to
pursue your dreams.
One day, an angel appeared and told you, “You only have a week left to
live. Within that span of remaining time, God is giving you a chance to forgive
your family in one condition: your life will end the moment you utter your
forgiveness to your family. If you do not forgive them, you will get additional
week to live.”
You are about to respond to the angel, what would you say?
ANSWER:
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
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What’s New
INTERPRETATING THE STORY: Discuss the symbolisms in the short story and
story’s possible meaning.

From Leo Tolstoy’s A Confession and Other Religious Writings

There is an old Eastern fable about a traveller who is taken unawares
on the steppes by a ferocious animal. In order to escape the beast, the
traveller hides in an empty well, but at the bottom of the well, he sees a
dragon with its jaws open, ready to devour him. The poor fellow does not
dare to climb out because he is afraid of being eaten by the ferocious
 beast, neither does he dare drop to the bottom of the well for fear of being
eaten by the dragon. So he seizes hold of a branch of a bush that is
growing in the crevices of the well and clings on to it. His arms grow
weak and he knows that he will soon have to resign himself to the death
that awaits him on the either side. Yet he clings on and while he is
holding on to the one branch, he looks around and sees that two mice,
one black and one white are steadily working on their way round the
bush he is hanging from, gnawing away at it. Sooner or later, they will
eat through it and the branch will snap, and he will fall into the jaws of
the dragon. The traveller sees this and knows that he will inevitably
perish. But while he is still hanging there, he sees some drops of honey
on the leaves of the bush, stretches his tongue and licks them.

INTERPRETATION AND MEANING OF SYMBOLS:

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What is It
Phenomenological Notion of Death
According to Martin Heidegger (1889-1976) in his book Being and Time,
death is (a) certain, (b) indefinite, (c) one’s property, (d) non-relational, and (e) not
to be outstripped.

Death is certain. As part of humanness, we are all born (in Heideggerian sense,
we are “thrown”) in the world. The world is governed by time. We, humans, are
existing in time, thus, as being thrown in the world, we have beginning and since
we are finite beings, we also have end – death. Birth and death are two things we
cannot remove from our existence. Whether we like it or not, we will die.
 Death is indefinite. While death is sure to come, it is however indefinite as
to when it will come. Death is impending, meaning to say, it can happen anytime.
We do not know exactly when. That is why, we should try to live the best life that
we can for we never know the day of our end.

Death is one’s property. The death of the person belongs to him. Nobody
can experience his death except himself. There can be no proxies or substitutes for
a person in experiencing death.

Death is non-relational. This means that when we die, we die alone. We

have no choice but to face it on our own. Death also removes all our relations to
others. In contemplating death, we realize our own individuality and independence
from the world.

Death is not to be outstripped. Death cannot be taken away from a

person. Even the person himself cannot remove the possibility of death in his life.
One cannot make himself live forever. Even though we see in fiction movies the idea
of immortality, death, in real life is a definite reality which we nothing can be done
to be outstripped.

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What’s More
Death and Authenticity
What does death really mean? Is it just a reminder that human existence has
a limitation? We may accept the reality of death as it is, but it also reminds us that
we have to value life while we have it.
Since we cannot control it, things that remain within our control are those
which belong to life. While still alive, we have choices to take. The question now is
not focused on death but on how we live in the world. Let us ask ourselves before
we die. Did we ever truly live?
Authenticity is an idea mostly used in existentialism which means having
true and meaningful existence. According to Soren Kierkegaard, we have to avoid
the crowd – the majority of the society which we think that should be the pattern of
our lives. For example, we see people marrying, therefore, we also have to marry.
But authenticity is not like that. We have to freely choose marrying. The intention
to marry should not come from the crowd as we usually hear but it should come
from our deliberate choice.
Another reason why we fail to lead an authentic life is fear. Just because we
are afraid of the possible consequences and what others might say, we fail to pursue
what we truly want in life. This challenge of authenticity is one of the important
messages of death. As we accept death, we realize the value of having a true life – an
authentic life!

AUTHENTICITY PROJECT: List down the 3 things you truly want in life, the
challenges you see in pursuing your goals and the possible solutions to these
challenges.
GOALS CHALLENGES SOLUTIONS

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What I Have Learned

BEFORE AND AFTER: Write your previous knowledge (before reading this module)
and your new understanding on death. Determine what makes more sense and tell
why.
Previous Knowledge about Death New Understanding about Death
 What makes more sense?

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What I Can Do
REFLECTIONS. After realizing that death is certain and impending, we should at all
times be ready for death. It is just like a thief in the night so we have to prepare for
it. Write an essay about your realizations and your insights about death.
MY REFLECTIONS NAD INSIGHTS ABOUT DEATH
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Assessment
Write TRUE if you agree that the statement is correct but write FALSE if you think
the statement is incorrect and explain why the statement is wrong in the space
provided under each item.
______________ 1. Death is one of the surest thing in the world.
__________________________________________________________________ ______________
2. Death comes at the time we expect it will come.
__________________________________________________________________ ______________
3. We can always say that there is still time.
__________________________________________________________________
______________ 4. Though we don’t know when we will die, we can prepare for it.
__________________________________________________________________ ______________
5. Immortality can be achieved by man.
__________________________________________________________________
______________ 6. We can always design how we will die.
__________________________________________________________________
______________ 7. Following the society would mean a good existence.
__________________________________________________________________ ______________
8. We waste our lives by living the life we don’t want.
__________________________________________________________________ ______________
9. Death is impending.
__________________________________________________________________
______________ 10. Two persons can totally share same experience of death
__________________________________________________________________

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Additional Activities
Watch this motivational video about death and give your reflection on your own
existence: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjzJ8bO2x4U. Get a journal and
write your realizations about death and meaning of life.

Answer Key
TRUE
 death is
unique
one’s –
FALSE
TRUE
TRUE
we

personally want.
should live the life
we – FALSE
we will die.
may not know how
we – FALSE
die.
we all – FALSE
TRUE
we will die
never know when
we – FALSE
is impending
death – FALSE
TRUE
Assessment

TRUE
is impending
death – FALSE
we personally want.
should live the life
we – FALSE
TRUE
we will die
never know when
we – FALSE
TRUE
death is unique
one’s – FALSE
we will die.
 may not know how we all – FALSE
we – FALSE What I Know
TRUE
die.

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References

BOOKS:

Agoncillo, T.A. (2012). The history of the Filipino people 8th edition. Quezon
City: C& E Publishing Corp.
Artigas, M. (2006). Philosophy: an introduction translated by Fr. M. Guzman.
Makati City: Sinag-tala Publishers Corpuz,
B.B., Ruben A.C., Maria Lovelyn C.P., Socrates, O.P., (2016). Introduction to
the philosophy of the human person for senior high school. Quezon
City: Lorimar publishing, Inc.
Bauzon, P.T. (2012). Handbook in social philosophy (with review materials in
social philosophy of education for LET) 2nd Edition. Mandaluyong
City: National Book Store.
Bernardo, J.P.V. (2016). Introduction to the philosophy of the human person.
Pasay City: JFS Publishing Services.
Buber, Martin. “Dialogue,” in Between Man and Man, Collins: Fontana, 1966.

Calano, Mark Joseph et al, Philosophizing and Being Human. Quezon City:
Sibs
Publishing House Inc., 2016.

Copus, B.B. et al. (2016). Introduction to the philosophy of the human person.
Quezon City: Lorimar Pub.

Dy Jr., Manuel, Philosophy of Man: Selected Readings. 2nd Edition. Makati

City: Goodwill
Trading Co. Inc, 2001.
 Heidegger, Martin. Being and Time. Translated by Joan Stambaugh. New
York: SUNY
Press, 1996.

Krapiec, M. I. (1985). I – man: an outline of philosophical anthropology

abridged version by Francis J. Lescoe and Roger B. Duncan. New
Britain: Mariel Publications.

Mabaquiao Jr., Napoleon. Making Life Worth Living. Quezon City: Phoenix
Publishing

13
House, Inc. 2017

Maboloc, C. R. (2016). Introduction to the philosophy of the human person.

Quezon City: The Inteligente Publishing Inc.
Mercado, L.N. (1988). Applied Filipino philosophy. Tacloban City: Divine Word
University Publication.
Wallace, W.A. (1977). The elements of philosophy. New York City: Society of
St. Paul.
Ramos, C.C. (2016). Introduction to the philosophy of the human person.
Manila: Rex Publishing House
Socio, M.P.G. and Ignatius H.V. (2016). Introduction to the philosophy of the
human person. Quezon City: Vibal Group Inc.

JOURNALS:
Gaardner, J. (2007). A user manual for our planet. UNESCO: the courier. No.
9 ISSN.
1993- 8616. 4 – 5.

United Nations Education Scientific and Cultural Organization. (2009).

Teaching philosophy in Asia – Pacific. Bangkok: author.

Augustine. Man: Body and soul. (1967). In A. Armstrong (Ed.), The

Cambridge History of Later Greek and Early Medieval Philosophy (pp. 354-
361).

Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

doi:10.1017/CHOL9780521040549.023

Callicott, J. Baird 1987, ‘Conceptual Resources for Environmental Ethics in

Asian Traditions of Thought: A Propaedeutic’, Philosophy East and West, Vol.
37, No. 2, pp. 115-130.
Frese, Stephen J. 2003, ‘Aldo Leopold: An American Prophet’, The History
Teacher, Vol. 37, No. 1, Special Feature Issue: Environmental History and
National History Day 2003 Prize Essays, pp. 99-118.

Jenkins, Willis 2009, ‘After Lynn White: Religious Ethics and Environmental
Problems’, The Journal of Religious Ethics, Vol. 37, No. 2, pp. 283-309.

Snyder Brian F. 2017, ‘The Darwinian Nihilist Critique of Environmental Ethics’,

Ethics and the Environment, Vol. 22, No. 2, pp. 59-78.

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Welchman, Jennifer 2012, ‘A Defence of Environmental Stewardship’,
Environmental Values Vol. 21, No. 3, pp. 297-316.

Confucianism and Existentialism: Intersubjectivity as the Way of Man

Author(s): Hwa Yol Jung Source: Philosophy and Phenomenological
Research , Dec., 1969, Vol. 30, No. 2 (Dec., 1969), pp. 186-202 Published by:
International Phenomenological Society

Jen: An Existential and Phenomenological Problem of Intersubjectivity

Author(s): Hwa Yol Jung Source: Philosophy East and West , Jul. - Oct., 1966,
Vol. 16, No. 3/4 (Jul. - Oct., 1966), pp. 169-188 Published by: University of
Hawai'i Press

Dean Edward A. Mejos, Against Alienation: Karol Wojtyla’s Theory of

Participation, Kritike, Vol. 1, No. 1, June 2007

ONLINE SOURCES:

http://sutterfield.weebly.com/uploads/1/2/6/8/12686139/discussion_questions
_ for_plato_cave.pdf
https://outre-monde.com/2010/09/25/platonic-myths-the-sun-line-and-cave
/ http://blogphilosophy2.blogspot.com/2007/11/phenomenology.html
https://philonotes.com/index.php/2018/12/01/the-human-person-as-an
embodied-spirit/
https://ses.edu/a-summary-of-act-potency/
https://iep.utm.edu/envi-eth/
https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/ethics-environmental/
https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/environmental-aesthetics/
https://www.schooldrillers.com/anthropocentrism-in-environmental-ethics/
https://simplicable.com/new/environmental-issues
http://www.umich.edu/~snre492/sdancy.html
https://gm.ecotaf.net/1640-freedom.html
https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts
and-maps/human-act
https://studylib.net/doc/25188409/ethics-1-module-1-study-guide--aug-2018
-
https://www.encyclopedia.com/social-sciences/applied-and-social-sciences
magazines/tribal-society
https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/digital-society/0/steps/2380
8
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=luke%2010:25-
37&version=NIV

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