Republic of the Philippines

Department of Education
REGION IV-A CALABARZON
SCHOOLS DIVISION OF BATANGAS

LEARNING ACTIVITY SHEET

Introduction to the Philosophy of Human Person
Human Person and Death

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Name of Learner: ____________________________________
Grade Level: ____________________________________
Strand/Track: ____________________________________
Section: ____________________________________
Date: ____________________________________
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A. Background Information for Learners

The learner understands human beings as oriented towards their impending death and
write a philosophical reflection on the meaning of his/her own life.
B. Learning Competency with code
1. Recognize the meaning of his/her own life PPT11/12-IIh-8.1
2. Enumerate the objectives he/she really wants to achieve and to define the projects
he/she really wants to do in his/her life
PPT11/12-IIi-8.2
3. Explain the meaning of life (where will all these lead to) PPT11/12-IIi-8.3
4. Reflect on the meaning of his/her own life. PPT11/12-IIi-8.4

C. Directions/ Instructions
While accomplishing the activities, you are expected to:
1. Attain the learning objectives specified below.
2. Use this learning activity sheet cautiously.
3. Pay attention on the instructions given in each activity.
4. Read and analyze the texts and activities written on it with understanding.
5. If nobody is around to help you, contact your teacher at this number, __or send a private
message via messenger.
6. Treasure each moment of learning. Manage your time wisely and follow the indicated time
frame.

D. Exercises / Activities

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 Republic of the Philippines
Department of Education
REGION IV-A CALABARZON
SCHOOLS DIVISION OF BATANGAS

1. INTRODUCTION
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

b. What’s new?

Learning Task 1

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.
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 Republic of the Philippines
Department of Education
REGION IV-A CALABARZON
SCHOOLS DIVISION OF BATANGAS

Interpretation and Meaning

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c. What I Know?
Learning Task 2
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.
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______________ 2. Death is impending.
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______________ 3. We can always design how we will die.
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______________ 4. Two persons can totally share same experience of death
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______________ 5. Death is one of the surest thing in the world.

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______________ 6. We can always say that there is still time.
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______________ 7. We waste our lives by living the life we don’t want.
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 Republic of the Philippines
Department of Education
REGION IV-A CALABARZON
SCHOOLS DIVISION OF BATANGAS

______________ 8. Following the society would mean a good existence.

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______________ 9. Death comes at the time we expect it will come.

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______________ 10. Though we don’t know when we will die, we can prepare for it.

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d. What’s in?

Learning Task 3

What is your initial reaction when you read the title of this part of the module (DEATH)?
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.

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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 Republic of the Philippines
Department of Education
REGION IV-A CALABARZON
SCHOOLS DIVISION OF BATANGAS

e. 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. This 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.

f. 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.
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 Republic of the Philippines
Department of Education
REGION IV-A CALABARZON
SCHOOLS DIVISION OF BATANGAS

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!

Learning Task 4
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

g. What I Have Learned

Learning Task 5

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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 Republic of the Philippines
Department of Education
REGION IV-A CALABARZON
SCHOOLS DIVISION OF BATANGAS

h. What I Can Do

Learning Task 6

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 AND INSIGHTS ABOUT DEATH

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Additional Activities

Learning Task 7

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.

i. References
BOOKS:
Agoncillo, T.A. (2012). The history of the Filipino people 8thedition.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 tothe
philosophy of the human person for senior high school. Quezon City: Lorimar publishing, Inc.
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Department of Education
REGION IV-A CALABARZON
SCHOOLS DIVISION OF BATANGAS

Bauzon,P.T. (2012). Handbook in social philosophy (with review materials in social philosophy of
education for LET) 2ndEdition. 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
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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. 2ndEdition. 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
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Quezon City: The Inteligente Publishing Inc.

Mercado, L.N. (1988). Applied Filipino philosophy. Tacloban City: Divine Word University
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Ramos, C.C. (2016). Introduction to the philosophy of the human person. Manila: Rex Publishing
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M.P.G. and Ignatius H.V. (2016). Introduction to the philosophy of the human person. Quezon
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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.

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 Republic of the Philippines
Department of Education
REGION IV-A CALABARZON
SCHOOLS DIVISION OF BATANGAS

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
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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.

Welchman, Jennifer 2012, ‘A Defence of Environmental Stewardship’, Environmental ValuesVol.

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),
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Jen: An Existential and Phenomenological Problem of Intersubjectivity Author(s): Hwa Yol Jung
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Dean Edward A. Mejos, Against Alienation: Karol Wojtyla’s Theory of Participation, Kritike, Vol. 1,
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