INTERPRETATING THE STORY:

Discuss the symbolisms in the short

story and story’s possible meaning.
 Quarter 2 – Module 4:
Human Person and Death
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?
DEATH
• 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
DEATH
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.
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

• Death is certain. As part of

humanness, we are all born (in
Heideggerian sense, we are
“thrown”) in the world.
DEATH IS CERTAIN
• 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.
DEATH IS CERTAIN

• Birth and death are two things we

cannot remove from our existence.
Whether we like it or not, we will
die.
DEATH IS INDEFINITE
• 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.
DEATH IS INDEFINITE

• 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
• 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
• 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.
DEATH IS NON-RELATIONAL

• In contemplating death, we realize

our own individuality and
independence from the world.
DEATH IS NOT TO BE OUTSTRIPPED
• 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.
DEATH IS NOT TO BE OUTSTRIPPED
• 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.
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.
• 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
• . 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!
Death and Authenticity
AUTHENTICITY PROJECT
• 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.
BEFORE AND AFTER
• 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.