Mer

il
ynnE.Bi
niahan
I
CT12-B

I
ntroduct
ionto
Phi
losophyofthe
HumanPer son
Quar
ter2–Module4:
HumanPersonandDeat
h
Mer
il
ynnE.Bi
niahan
I
CT12-B

I
ntroduct
ionto
Phi
losophyofthe
HumanPer son
Quar
ter2–Module4:
HumanPersonandDeat
h

13
Mer
il
ynnE.Bi
niahan
I
CT12-B

13
Mer
il
ynnE.Bi
niahan
I
CT12-B

WhatINeedt
oKnow

Inthi
smodule,l
ear
nersl
ikeyouwillbephil
osophical
lyor
ientedregardi
ngasensiti
ve topi
c
everybody does notl i
ke al way st ot al
k about– deat h.Her e,we wi l
ltr
eatdeath
i
nanacademi cwaywhil
ealsoall
owi ngourowntakesandinsightst
oint
erplaywit
h
thediscussi
ons.
Howev er,
youareadv i
sedtohaveanobjecti
v edi
sposi
tionregar
ding death t o
remov eanynegat i
veimpr essiont hatmayaf f
ecty ourr eadi
nesst ounder st
anddeat
has
aphenomenon.

Primari
l
y ,we willdealwiththe Phenomenol
ogi
calNotion ofDeat
hto gi
veitdef i
nit
e
charact
erizati
onandt heRelat
ionofDeathwit
hAuthenti
cit
yuponwhichwewillcomet o
reali
zethev al
ueofunderst
andi
ngdeathasawaytoestabl
i
shamor emeani
ngf
ulexi
stence.

Thus,
aft
ergoi
ngt
hrought
hismodul
e,y
ouar
eex
pect
edt
o:
1.ex plaint
hephenomenol ogicalnot
ionof
deat
h
2.givet hecharacter
ist
icsofdeat
h
3. r
elatedeathwi t
htheconceptofagoodl i
febasedonaut
hent
ici
ty
4. r
eflectonone’sowndeat h
5. embr acedeathasanat ur
alphenomenon

Not
est
otheTeacher
Theremaybecaseswher estudent
sarenotr eadytodi
scussthist opi
c.
Topr eventunwantedscenari
os,ori
ent
ationmaybedonebef orehand.
Being knowledgeabl
e aboutpsychol
ogical
disposi
ti
ons oflearnersi s
anadvantage.

13
Mer
il
ynnE.Bi
niahan
I
CT12-B

WhatIKnow

Wr i
teTRUEifyouagreethatt
hestat
ementi
scorr
ectbutwri
teFALSEifyouthinkthe
stat
ementisincor
rectandexplai
nwhyt
hestat
ementiswronginthespaceprovidedunder
eachitem.

Fal
se1.
Immor
tal
i
tycanbeachi
evedby
man.

Peopl
ecan'
tl
iv
efor
ever
.Wel
i
vewedi
e

Tr
ue2.
Deat
hisi
mpendi
ng.

Fal
se3.
Wecanal
way
sdesi
gnhowwewi
l
ldi
e.
Wedon'
tknowwher
eandwhenwegonnadi
e

Tr
ue4.
Twoper
sonscant
otal
l
yshar
esameex
per
ienceof
deat
h
Forexampl
edi
seaseandacci
dent

Tr
ue5.
Deat
hisoneoft
hesur
estt
hingi
nthewor
ld.

Fal
se6.
Wecanal
way
ssayt
hatt
her
eisst
il
lt
ime.
Wedon'
tknowwhenwewi
l
ldi
e

Tr
ue7.
Wewast
eourl
i
vesbyl
i
vingt
hel
i
fewedon’
twant
.

Fal
se8.
Fol
l
owi
ngt
hesoci
etywoul
dmeanagoodexi
stence.
Wel
i
vet
hel
i
fet
hatwewant
.

Fal
se9.
Deat
hcomesatt
het
imeweex
pecti
twi
l
lcome.
Deat
hcanbesounexpect
ed,
it'
simmi
nent

Tr
ue10.Thoughwedon’
tknowwhenwewi
l
ldi
e,wecanpr
epar
efor
it
.

13
Mer
il
ynnE.Bi
niahan
I
CT12-B

Lesson

1 Deat
h
Whati
syour
ini
ti
alr
eact
ionwheny
oureadt
hetit
leof
thi
spar
tof
themodul
e?I
sdeat
hreal
l
ya
t
err
if
yingphenomenon?Ifdeathi
sadreadfult
hing,whatmakesi
tfear
some?

Ont heot herhand,death,aspar

tofhumanr eali
ty,mayhav emeani ngfulmessages.
At t hi
s j unction, we wi l
l try t o uncov er t he my stery of deat h by
rat
ionalizi
ngitsphenomenonsot hat
wegett
ounder
standit
better
,accept
itaspart of human
nature,andt r
eati tasacondit
ionthatal
l
owsust ocreateameani ngfulexist
ence.

What
’sI
n

THOUGHTEXPERI
MENT:I
magi
net
hescenar
iobel
ow.Answert
hequest
ionsusi
ng3-
5
sent
encesonl
y.

Youar ely
inginahospitalbed.Youhav eastage4col oncancer
.Youhav
eno
probl
em i n paying the bill
s si nce y ou are a r ich man. But nobody
,
exceptf
orthedoct
orandhospi
tal
staff
,i
swithyou.
Thi
sisduet
othefact
that
youdespisedyour
famil
yfor
notbeli
evi
nginyouandl
eft
themtopursueyourdr
eams.
Oneday,
anangelappearedandtol
dyou,“Youonlyhaveaweekl
eftt
o
l
ive.Wi
thi
nthat
spanofremainingt
ime,Godisgi
v i
ngyouachancetofor
giveyourfamil
yin
onecondit
ion:yourl
i
fewi l
lendt hemomenty ouutteryourforgi
venesst
oyourfamil
y.
I
fy oudonotforgi
vethem, youwi l
lgetaddit
ionalweekt oli
ve.
”
Youar
eaboutt
orespondt
otheangel
,whatwoul
dyousay
?
ANSWER:

Iwi
l
lfor
givethem f
ort
hethi
ngsthatt
heydi
dtome.Fornotsuppor
ti
ngmeandbel
iev
ing
me.Ev
eni
fIdon'
tut
ter theforgi
venessI
'
m sti
l
lgonnadi
eandIdon'
twanttobeinpai
nandal
oneany
mor e.

13
 What
’sNew

INTERPRETATI
NGTHESTORY:
Discusst
hesy
mbol
i
smsi
ntheshor
tst
oryandst
ory
’s
possi
blemeani
ng.

Fr
om LeoTol
stoy
’sAConf
essi
onandOt
herRel
igi
ousWr
it
ings
Therei sanol dEast ernf ableaboutat r
av ellerwhoi st akenunawar esont he
steppesbyaf erociousani mal .Inordertoescapet hebeast , t
het r
avell
erhidesi n
anempt ywel l, butatt hebot tom oft hewell,heseesadr agonwi thitsj
awsopen,
ready to dev our him. The poor fellow does not
daretoclimbout becausehei saf r
aidofbei
ngeat enby theferoci ousbeast ,neitherdoes
hedar edr opt ot hebot tom oft hewel lforfearofbei ngeat enbyt hedr agon.So
hesei zeshol dofabr anchofabusht hatisgr owingi nt hecr evi
cesoft hewel l
and cl i
ngs on t o i t. Hi s ar ms gr ow weak and he
knowst hat hewi ll
soonhav etoresignhimselft
ot hedeat hthat awai t
shim ont heei t
her
side.Yethecl i
ngsonandwhi lehei shol dingont ot heonebr anch,hel ooks
aroundandseest hatt womi ce,onebl ackandonewhi tear est eadil
ywor kingon
their way round t
he bush he is hanging from,
gnawi ngaway atit.
Sooner orlater,
theywil
leat
thr oughi t
andt hebr anch willsnap,and
hewi llfallint
ot hejawsoft hedr agon.Thet rav el
lerseest hisandknowst hathe
will i nevit
abl y peri
sh. But whi le he i
s sti
ll hangi ng
there,
heseessomedr opsof honey onthel
eavesof thebush, stret cheshist ongue and
l
icksthem.

INTERPRETATI ONANDMEANI NGOFSYMBOLS:

Wej ustneedoacceptourendsi fwedi
ewedi e,wecan'
tescapeFrom i
t.I
tmi ght
soundhar shandcruel
,i
fther
e'snohopethere'
snohopedon'tthi
nkfrom i
t,because
youjustgoingtogetdevast
ated.Wejustneedtofaceandacceptit.

13
 AUTHENTICI
TYPROJECT:Li
stdownt he3thi
ngsyoutr
ulywantinl
if
e,thechal
l
engesy
ou
seei
npursui
ngy
ourgoal
sandthepossibl
esol
uti
onst
othesechal
l
enges.
GOALS CHALLENGES SOLUTI ONS
Manageacompany Maintaini
ngreput
ati
on, Hav eagood, service, be
f
inancialmanagement trustworthy,beconsi stentand
talkclearl
y.Fi ndaper sonwho
canmanaget hef i
nanci al
well
andal way smoni torthe
empl oyee.
Buyabi
ghouse Fi
nanci
al,
overspendi
ng Hav easav i
ngsf orahouse.
Themoneyy ouspendf or
necessar ythingswi l
lbe
differ
entinsav ingmoneyf or
theHouse, andDon' tbuy
unnecessar yt hings.
Tr
avel Runningoutofmoney , Bef or
egoi ngt ot hepl aceyou
fi
nancial
,notspeaki
ngthe wantr esearchi t.Soy oucan
l
anguage hav eagener alideaonhow
muchi twil
l cost .Soy oucan
budgetpr oper ly.Befor egoing
tot hecount ryy ouneedt o
l
ear nsomeoft hel anguageor
usebodygest ure.
BEFOREANDAFTER:Wr
it
eyourpr
eviousknowl
edge(
bef
orer
eadi
ngthi
smodul
e)andyournew
under
standi
ng on deat
h. Determi
ne what makes mor e sense and tel
l why.

13
 Pr
evi
ousKnowl
edgeaboutDeat
h NewUnder
standi
ngaboutDeat
h

Thatdeat
hwil
lcomeanyt
ime,
whethery
ouexpect
edi
tornot Thatdeathwil
lbeuniqueorpeopl
e
wil
lalwayshav
edi f
fer
ent
experi
encei
ndeat h

Whatmakesmor
esense?

Thatal
lpeopledieandwehav eli
mit,
sodot hi
ngsyouwant
t
odo.Don'tletpeoplest
opy oufr
om thet
hingsyouwanted
t
odo.Becausedeat hdoesnotchooseanyt
hingwhethery
ou
di
dallthet
hingsyouwantornot.

WhatICanDo
REFLECTIONS.Af
terr
eali
z i
ngthat
deat
hiscer
tai
nandi
mpendi
ng,weshoul
datal
lt i
mes be ready for
death.I
tisjustl
ikeat hiefinthenightsowehav etoprepareforit
.Wr i
teanessayabouty
our
real
i
zati
onsandyourinsightsabout
death.

MYREFLECTI
ONSNADI
NSI
GHTSABOUTDEATH

Peopleliveanddi e,
wearejustmortal
,wedon' thaveasuperpowertomakeourl if
espanlong.
Deat hisnatural,wehavegiv
enachancet olive.Andtheti
mewi l
lcomethatwillgonnasl
eepfor
eterni
ty.Li
feislikeaseasontimewill
endandnewseasonbegi n.Wedon'tknowwhen, wherewe
will
die,wedon' tknowifwestil
lhav
et i
me, becausedeathcanbeunexpected.Acceptthi
ngs
becausedeat hdoesnotchoosewhet heryouhav eorhaven'
tdonethi
ngsy oushouldhavedone.And
deathformei snott heopposi
teofl
ifeitj
ustpar tofi
t.

13
Assessment
Wr i
teTRUEifyouagreethatt
hestat
ementi
scorr
ectbutwri
teFALSEifyouthinkthe
stat
ementisincor
rectandexplai
nwhyt
hestat
ementiswronginthespaceprovidedunder
eachitem.

Tr
ue1.
Deat
hisoneoft
hesur
estt
hingi
nthewor
ld.

Fal
se2.
Deat
hcomesatt
het
imeweex
pecti
twi
l
lcome.
Deat
hcanbeunexpect
ed,
wedon'
tknowwhenwewi
l
ldi
e

Fal
se3.
Wecanal
way
ssayt
hatt
her
eisst
il
lt
ime.
Wedon'
tknowwhenwedi
e

Tr
ue4.
Thoughwedon’
tknowwhenwewi
l
ldi
e,wecanpr
epar
efor
it
.

Fal
se5.
Immor
tal
i
tycanbeachi
evedby
man.
Weal
ldi
e
Fal
se6.
Wecanal
way
sdesi
gnhowwewi
l
ldi
e.
Wedon'
tknowhowwewi
l
ldi
e

Fal
se7.
Fol
l
owi
ngt
hesoci
etywoul
dmeanagoodexi
stence.
Wel
i
vet
hel
i
fet
hatwewant
.

Tr
ue8.
Wewast
eourl
i
vesbyl
i
vingt
hel
i
fewedon’
twant
.
Tr
ue9.
Deat
hisi
mpendi
ng.

Tr
ue10.Twoper
sonscant
otal
l
yshar
esameexper
ienceof
deat
h

Addi
ti
onalAct
ivi
tyr
efl
ect
ion

Reflection
Weal lknowt hattherei sati
met hatwel eavethiswor ld, andpeopl ear eafraidofit
.Peopl eare
afraidtodie, andt hatpeoplecan'taccepti t.AndIaskedmy selfwhy ,isitbecauset heydidn'tdo
thethingst hatt heywantort heyr egretthechoicet hatt heychoose?Ort heirLifei
sj usttoshort
thattheyst i
llwantt oli
ve?Ortheyst illhavealotoft hingst odo?Weal lwanttohav eal onglif
e,
notjusty oubutev eryone,wewantt odoal lthethingst hatwewantt odo.Li f
eanddeat hisalways
amy sterywedon' tknowwhatwi l
lhappennexti nourl ives.Ifwe'regoi ngt odiecanwel i
veagain
canwehav eanaf terl
if
e?Andt hatlifecanwedot het hingst hatwedi dn'tdoi nourpastl i
fe?Allwe
needt odoi saccepti t,deat
hispar tofl i
fe,soweneedt odot hethingswewant edtodo, choose
thelifewewant .Livehappil
y,i
fy ouhav etodosomet hingr ightnowdoi t,
Becausel ifei
sshor t
don'tregretit,ifthet i
mecomes.I fthere'saoppor tuni
t yinl i
fedoi t
, Don'twast eti
mewheny ou
sti
llhav ebecausewej usthaveonel ifeandy oucanbr ingi tbackifit'sgone.

13