Overview
This lecture explores Martin Heidegger's philosophy of death, primarily from his work "Being and Time," and discusses how our understanding of mortality shapes life, ending with a critique from Jean-Paul Sartre.
Heidegger's Central Philosophical Concerns
- Heidegger's main question in "Being and Time" is the meaning of being, not just individual beings.
- He uses a phenomenological approach (based on experience) to examine human existence (Dasein).
- Dasein is not just a biological human, but the entity that asks about being and finds meaning in the world.
- Dasein’s state is characterized by "care," meaning being ahead-of-itself, already-in-the-world, and being alongside others and things.
Dasein’s Structure and Wholeness
- Dasein is “thrown” into the world (thrownness), not choosing its circumstances.
- Dasein always exists with others and follows societal norms (fallenness).
- Dasein constantly projects itself into future possibilities (projection).
- Wholeness of Dasein can't be found in its current state but only at its end—its death.
Heidegger's Concept of Death
- Death is uniquely "mine"; only I can face my own death.
- Death is not an empirical event but an existential phenomenon: the end of being-in-the-world.
- Heidegger differentiates between demise (biological end), perishing (end for all living things), and existential death (end of Dasein's potential).
- Dasein is always "being towards death," a possibility it cannot avoid.
- Death is certain, indefinite in its timing, non-relational, and not transferable to others.
Everydayness and Inauthenticity
- In everyday life, people inauthentically relate to death by treating it as distant or statistical ("the they" or societal norms).
- The "they" trivialize death, prescribing tranquility or fear instead of genuine anxiety.
Authentic Being-Towards-Death
- Authenticity is acknowledging death as one's own most, non-relational, inescapable, certain, and indefinite possibility.
- Authentic being-towards-death involves anticipating death and living with existential anxiety, rather than fleeing from it.
- Authenticity leads to individual freedom and a fuller grasp of one's own possibilities.
Sartre's Critique and Heidegger's Response
- Sartre argues that death is not "mine" but an annihilation of possibilities from outside.
- He claims Heidegger internalizes death while in fact, death is an external event.
- Heidegger responds that Sartre confuses existential death with demise; death is not an event but a way of being.
Key Terms & Definitions
- Dasein — The human being as the entity that asks about and finds meaning in being.
- Care — The foundational structure of Dasein, comprising thrownness, fallenness, and projection.
- Thrownness — The condition of being placed into a world not of one’s choosing.
- Projection — Dasein’s orientation toward future possibilities.
- Fallenness — Adoption of social norms and expectations, resulting in inauthentic existence.
- Being-towards-death — Dasein’s way of anticipating its end and integrating mortality into existence.
- The They — Societal norms and the collective way of interpreting experience.
- Authenticity — Living in full awareness and acceptance of one’s own mortality and possibilities.
Action Items / Next Steps
- Review the characteristics of care (thrownness, fallenness, projection) as they relate to Dasein.
- Read Heidegger’s "Being and Time," focusing on Division Two (Being-towards-death).
- Consider the differences between Heidegger’s and Sartre’s views on death for class discussion.