San Carlos Seminary College
Luz, Mabolo, Cebu City
Name: Ashleigh John A. Hermosada Date: September 25, 2020
Course: Advance Philosophy of the Human Person
OVERCOMING INAUTHENTICITY: HEIDEGGER ON HUMAN EXISTENCE AND
DEATH (SUMMARIZED VERSION)
Life, as to what existentialist say, directs us towards death. However, this concept is
understood in a sense to seek the essence of our existence. Basically, it answers the profound
question: what is it to exist? When we imagine life without death, that is to say being
immortal, we ponder if eradicating death would change the way how we perceive life, would
reshape our principles, or simply said how immortality would greatly affect our life. Of
course, this idea deviates the facticity that we are all going to die someday. Now, since death
is an inevitable factor of our lives, does knowing our time of death would affect how we live?
Though this too deviates the indefiniteness of death, such hypothetical questions allow us to
see and reflect our relationship with death towards our existence.
Existential and Metaphysical
Heidegger's existential approach is best understood if contrasted with metaphysics since
metaphysics focuses on what constitutes a person’s existence in terms of material
composition. Heidegger defines this kind of analysis as the “what-ness” of human existence.
In contrast, however, the existential approach focuses on the mode, manner, or way of
existence peculiar to humans. This analysis defines our existence in terms of moods, moral
sensitivity, and a relation to a higher form of existence to make sense of one’s own.
Heidegger calls this the “who-ness” of human existence.
To further illustrate the difference of the two, we take the case of Tarzan. The “what-ness” of
Tarzan is clearly that of being a human and his “who-ness” is that of being an ape. However,
when he gets to converse with other humans, his “who-ness” becomes that of a human.
Being in the World
Heidegger refers to human being as “Dasein” which means being there. Dasein’s being-in or
existence in the world is essentially the involvement or engagement. Heidegger, sometimes,
characterizes it as sorge which is translated as care. This differentiates Dasein’s manner of
being-in from purely spatial type of being-in which is characteristic of the way mere objects
are in some place. To grasp Heidegger’s manner of Dasein’s being-in, it is best understood as
involvement rather than a relationship or mere matter of space. Take for example, a chair
inside a room constitutes a relationship of mere matter of space while a human being, or
Dasein inside the same room does not establish a relationship of taking space but rather there
is an involvement in certain things, say reading a book, eating a bowl of cereals, etc.
The existence of a human person being in the world cannot be describe as a relation in
space; is characterized by involvement or engagement
Heidegger tags two kinds of Dasein’s involvement: 1.) A human person is either being
alongside" (one's involvement that has the character of utility meaning things appear to
person merely as a form of equipment or instrument, or as things that the human person can
use either for practical purpose [things appear for practical needs, can be used] or theoretical
contemplation [things appear to it as one can study or observed]. a human person is ideally
alongside with entities (objects around us such as wall, chair, book, etc.). 2.) or human person
is "being with" (the person's involvement has the character of considerateness and
forbearance).
Self: Existential Nature
The self, as per Heidegger, refers to the sense of who it is as distinct from everything else,
and which remains the same relative to the various changes that it undergoes. Its nature is
analyzed not in terms of its “what-ness” but rather its “who-ness” that tells the mode of
existence. This begin with the self’s most basic existential feature: “mine-ness” or its feature
of ownership. This means to say that a self is always a self of someone.
However, the self, also, may happen that we do not truly own it. Heidegger calls this the
“inauthentic self”. This means to say that we do not own the self when we are not the ones
defining ourselves, or when we let other people define it for ourselves. This usually happens
during the initial stage when a human being is born, it is then delivered over to the care of
others. But as time passes by, it gains a subconscious choice on whether or not to continue
being in the state of inauthenticity. Dasein has the freedom to be define or to define itself.
Death and the quality of Existence
Death means the end of Dasein’s existence, or the cease of existence of a human being. By
death, Dasein cease to exist in the world therefore ceases to be Dasein. However, the death of
Dasein completes or fulfill its essence as while it is still alive, it was never complete. This is
where the saying goes that the essence of a human being is realize upon is death.
Consequently, death is a threat to all of Dasein’s involvements with the world both in terms
of their existence and their meaningfulness as Dasein’s essence is being defined since the first
moment it was alive until it ceases to be.
Heidegger identifies five essential features of death: (1) Certain, which simply means that
death is a possibility that will surely actualize. (2) Indefinite, that is there is certainty that
Dasein would cease to exist but its time is undetermined of when it will happen. (3) One’s
ownmost, death is its ownmost possibility in the sense that Dasein cannot relegate its own
death to anybody. Nobody but Dasein can face its own death. (4) Un-outsrippable, death
cannot be outstripped or cannot be taken away from Dasein as it will always be Dasein’s final
destiny as it exists in this world, there is no way we can escape our own death. (5) Non-
relational, in that in meeting its own death Dasein cannot be with somebody else. We have no
choice but to face our own death alone. However, this separates Dasein from all relations it
had with the world thus, making it aware of its individuality or its independence from the
world.
“Choosing to make one’s own choices is called resoluteness and in being resolute paves the
way towards authenticity, that is being an individual.”
Conclusion
Dasein’s existence is always in the context of a world and it has a self that it defines as it
exists. Its existence is branded through involvement; thus, it is necessarily a being-in-the-
world. With this, it is characterized by temporality which consists of facticity, things that can
no longer change, existentiality, the possibilities, and fallenness, the inauthenticity lived by
the Dasein.
Dasein’s existence face a constant threat by death, but it is Dasein’s attitude towards the
death in order to liberate itself from fallenness, or that death serves Dasein’s authenticity.
Death is inevitable, indefinite as we don’t know when it comes, and also cannot be shared.
However, with death comes the fulfillment of Dasein’s existence and essence basing on how
it lived its life while it exists. The moment death arrives in Dasein, it ceases to exist. Thus, it
also ceases to become a Dasein.
