Human Persons as

Oriented Towards
Impending Death
Lesson 8
Introduction to the Philosophy of the Human Person
How do you relate with others?

What is empathy?
Give the two kinds of
empathy based on
Philosophy
We are temporal beings or
beings oriented towards death
What does it mean to die?
Does death exist in the world?
How does reality of
death define our
lives?
 Death is
commonly
understood as the
end of bodily
functions which
signals the end of
a person’s life.
Death also
refers to the
separation
of the body
and the
spirit.

The body being material, is
bound by the laws of time
and space and is subject to
growth, death and decay.
The Spirit, being
immaterial, will
continue to exist
even after the body
has passed.
Everything that came to being
in this universe will eventually
come to an end.
YOLO
You only live once

“eat, drink and be merry for

tomorrow we die”
We must embrace
the fact that death
is an integral part
of our life
How should I live my
life before it finally
ends?
The person is the author and
protagonist who determines
the development and
conclusion of his or her life
story.
Temporal existence of a person means that his
life or her life is temporary; he or she is not a
being who exists permanently and for eternity.
Temporality challenges us to make choices that will be good for us and the
people around us.

It must be noted that since we have a body, we are always in the moment- we
exist in the here and now.
The person is always in the present although his spiritual nature
allows him to transcend the present.

Whenever we make choices we cannot undo that choice because

that present moment has now gone into the past.
Activity
Choose three (3) from words below that best describe your future. Write
your choices in a piece of paper. Explain your answer

Success Fortune or Money

 Fame Power
 Recognition Happiness
 Meaning or Purpose Sickness
 Contentment Faith
 Love Death
Evaluating Learning
How does one live a meaningful life in the reality of impending
death?

Ask the students to make a reflection about their life towards their
impending death.

“How would you like to put meaning to your life knowing your
impending death?”
True or False
Direction: Read each statement carefully, write TRUE if the statement is correct
and FALSE if wrong.

_____________ 1. Death is the end of bodily functions which signals the end of
a person’s life.
_____________2. The human person is an embodied spirit that grows and dies.
_____________3. There is no freedom in the inevitability of death.
_____________4. No human is oriented towards death.
_____________5. Death is not the goal of life but the challenge to live a
meaningful life.
What is the end of life?
The human person is not born into this world just so he or she could die.

Man is put on this earth to live a meaningful life, to be virtuous, and achieve excellence.

With this mind, we can look at two experiences which make us reflect on the meaning of
life
Happiness and suffering
What makes you happy?
Ancient Greek Philosophers considers happiness
as an achievement and it must be gained by
living a productive and moral life.
Religious philosophers consider happiness as a
union with God.
Other contemporary views define happiness as
“whole-life satisfaction,” based on our
evaluation of our overall life experiences.
What makes a person happy is that which fits his nature- we are
made truly happy by things that are true and good.

On the other hand, what is false and evil does not make a person
happy.
GOOD SOURCES
OF HAPPINESS
 Noble good is one which is pursued for its own
sake; it is good in itself. Love and friendship are
examples

 Useful good is considered good so long as it

serves as a means to an end; its goodness is
found only from what it can provide

 Pleasurable good is good so long as it provides

some form of pleasure, though it does not have
to be physical
It must be understood that a
specific good cannot be
categorized strictly under
one kind.
Real happiness
can be found in
more
permanent and
meaningful life