Page 1: Intro: The most overriding uncertainty for all humans is the lack of knowledge about our deaths
and what happens after them. As this question touches upon our life as a whole, it also provides the
scope within which we ask the most comprehensive question: What is the meaning of life? This is the
focus of this chapter.
Page 2: Have you ever wondered how nothing seems to last forever? Objects get worn out until they
can't be used anymore, food and drinks expire, and trends become outdated after some time. Even more,
what about the cycle of being born, and growing up? Getting sick, and dying? These points one very
important reality about the human condition, we are temporal beings or "beings oriented towards death."
Page 3: Have you ever thought about what it means to die? Surely, the idea makes you a bit
uncomfortable. You may feel that thinking about death at this time in your life is inappropriate or
unnecessary since you are still young and you have a whole life ahead of you. We do not think about the
reality of our death because it is difficult to imagine when and how we will die. Scientists and philosophers
still have many unanswered questions about death. However, we cannot deny the fact that death exists in
our world. We may have seen our beloved pets die; experienced the death of a family member, relative,
or acquaintance, and have heard news about death on television and other forms of media.
Page 3: The very thought of death and the mystery surrounding it certainly causes a lot of grief and
anxiety to a person, but it is an essential element in the human condition that deserves attention. Only by
reflecting on the reality of death can we begin to explore and understand the meaning of our existence.
Page 4: A ten-year-old once asked his mother a question: “Mom, what if years after we die, no one
will remember us, what we said, or what we did, what is the point of doing what we are doing
today?
Page 5: If you were an honest mother, what would you tell this little boy?
Page 5: The answers about what will happen to us after we die remain a matter of belief. While there is
nothing wrong in anchoring your life on religious beliefs (unless you are a committed atheist who would
condemn religious believers as foolish people), it is important to remain open to the truth of uncertainty.
No one is ever sure because no one, not even the atheist who thinks that there is nothing out there after
death, has ever come back after they died. The bottom line is that all human persons are equal in
ignorance in the face of death. As someone once said, death is the great equalizer.
Page 5: The task of philosophy is not to provide another answer to the question of what happens after
death, but to ask the question, what is the meaning of our lives in the face of the uncertainty of what
happens after death? In other words, the task of philosophy is to address the question that the little boy
asked above. The philosophical reflection on death is ultimately the same philosophical question about
the meaning of life. Is there meaning to all our striving, our wanting to be the best that we can be if we are
not sure of what happens to us after death?
Page 6: How does the reality of death define our lives?
Page 7: Death is commonly understood as the end of bodily functions which signals the end of a
person's life. It 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.
Page 8: A person's spiritual nature allows him or her to transcend his or her temporality and
physical limits. However, we also cannot deny the material nature of the person, that he or she is
still bound by the same laws of nature and reality that apply to all objects in existence. Everything
that came to being in this universe will eventually come to an end. We are born into human life, we
grow and age and we eventually die. This paradox defines the uniqueness of human existence.
Page 8: These attitudes are not necessarily bad but they may prevent us from reflecting on the reality of
death. We must embrace the fact that death is an integral part of our life. Once we have come to terms
with that, we can focus not just on the quantifiable aspects of life (e.g., years lived, material things owned)
but also on its quality. Ultimately, the acceptance of our temporality can bring about a sense of freedom in
us. It can also give us a clearer purpose and focus on our activities. Since we cannot do everything in our
lifetime, we must be able to reflect on what we need to do and identify the goals we need to achieve so
we can say that we have lived a meaningful existence.
Page 9 :How should I live my life before it finally ends?
Page 10: Understanding the person as being-towards-death brings us back to a very important
topic: freedom. It has been discussed previously that the essence of freedom is
self-determination – the capacity to choose and act for oneself. While there is no freedom in the
inevitability of death, a person still exercises freedom in choosing how to face death in their lives.
As biological beings bound by natural laws and the inevitability of death, we cannot stop aging and the
eventual decline of our bodies. However, we can definitely choose to spend our lives doing good and
reasonable things, or even go against what is good. The person, therefore, is the author and protagonist
who determines the development and conclusion of his or her life story.
Page 11: The temporal existence of a person means that his or her life is temporary; he or she is
not a being who exists permanently and for eternity. Accepting the fact that we have a limited time
in this world allows us to determine the course of our life — to paint a picture of how our life will
progress and how we envision it to end. While most people would prefer to not have any sort of limit, it
makes perfect sense to appreciate the beauty of something, framed within certain lines. The key idea is
that we all have a vocation to live life in the best possible way that we can-by being excellent persons. It
would be nearly impossible to measure this but look at how having a finish line makes us appreciate the
efforts of runners even more than if there was none in the first place. Ordinarily, we celebrate the fastest
runner, but we can also appreciate the runner who improved the most given the same set of conditions.
Page 11: Temporality challenges us to make choices that will be good for us and the people
around us. Whenever we make a choice, we cannot undo that choice because that present moment has
now gone into the past. On the other hand, the choices we make in the present are not always confined to
being here and now as they also have an impact on the future. Past, present, and the future are not
exclusive and isolated moments in time, but they are experienced together by the person because of the
dynamism provided by being an embodied spirit.
Page 12: Given all these considerations, we may ask what is the end of this life?
Page 13: The term end can be understood in two ways. Some philosophers view the end as
terminus which means the full stop or end of a line. For them, life ends and nothing follows.
Others, however, consider the end as telos which means "goal, purpose, or fulfillment." Although
we are oriented towards our death, death is not the goal of life. The human person is not born into
this world just so he or she could die. Man is put on earth to live a meaningful life, to be virtuous,
and to achieve excellence. With this in mind, we can look at two experiences that make us reflect
on the meaning of life; happiness and suffering.
Page 14: How does happiness, suffering, and death give meaning to your life? As we approach our
death, we experience both happiness and suffering. Although these are distinct experiences, the two are
not really meant to be complete opposites, for there may be instances when they enrich one another. The
pursuit of happiness requires that we go through the effort to achieve it. Our efforts are often marked by
difficulties and discouragement.
Page 15: If we are willing to suffer through adversities and maybe even suffer cheerfully, it makes
the pursuit of happiness even more worthwhile. As a result, we not only attain. the happiness that
we want, but we also become better persons in the process. The reality of death means that our
existence is unique and that we will not always get another chance to do things we want in this
life. Therefore, we should not easily give up on the pursuit of good things. Reflecting on the reality of
death enables us to think of how we can best live a meaningful life. We can strive to leave behind a
legacy either in the form of an inheritance, a reputation, or a significant achievement.
Page 15: We have the tendency to form bonds with others. This is in our nature as human persons. This
also means that we find meaning in life when we open ourselves to others. Therefore, we have an
opportunity not only to enrich our lives but also to touch the lives of others. A person lives a truly
meaningful life when he or she lives in unity and harmony with others. Although we are different from
each other, we are all made to love and serve one another. People are able to become truly great when
they live for people other than themselves. When we have genuine relationships with others, we not only
share in each other's happiness but we also bring happiness to others. We also share in each other's
suffering and help each other in difficult times. We eventually become part of someone else's life, we are
able to live in them in the same way that those whom we hold dear live on in our lives. When a person
passes away, he or she continues to live on because a part of that person is now with us.
Page 16: Because of our freedom, how we choose to live our lives is entirely up to us. Against the
backdrop of death, we are now called to use our freedom in the best way possible to bring us
closer to our happiness and bring happiness to others as well. Our lives are works in progress,
stories in the process of being written, and songs that are about to be sung. Life is a gift given to
each person and it is important to turn this life into a gift for others as well.
PAGE 17: Human Persons as Oriented Towards Their Impending Death
Page 18: All evils are to be feared, but nothing good is to be feared (That remark states a
tautology, but it is not a tautology of the kind which "tell us nothing", because it makes our
concepts, the meaning or how we use our words clear)
Page 19: According to Socrates to fear death is to think one knows what one does not know
It appears that Aristotle thinks he knows something wiser than this, for he lists death among the
things to be feared
Page 20: So much then for Socrates, who knows that he does not know "what death is" (Apology
40c-41a) -- but then also for Aristotle's advocacy of the human consensus ("it is thought to be"),
because it is hardly unusual for men to think they know what neither they nor anyone else knows,
and the common belief of the Greeks of Aristotle's time was that death is a mere shadow-like
existence in the underworld -- and therefore that man's death is evil.
Page 21: Death's Implication for Socrates
After the jury's verdict at his trial, Socrates was asked by his friends if he was preparing for his
trial (where the indictment against Socrates demanded the penalty of death). He replied,
"Do you not think that I have been preparing for it all my life." My life in this world must come to
an end; I must die. What does it mean for the philosopher?
Page 21: Does my death affect what is good for me, which Socrates identified with excellence, the word
“areté” that is proper to me as man and as an individual man?
Page 22: "We are discussing no small matter, but how to live." When Plato says "we are discussing
no small matter, but how to live" he takes it as understood that our discussion is philosophical, which
means rational ("discourse of reason"), as does Socrates when he says that moral virtue is knowledge of
what is good. Whereas Wittgenstein's irrational notion contributes nothing to philosophy.
Page 23: Man can choose either the life of philosophy (the Socratic life) versus a life of
self-abandonment. But if, on the other hand, virtue is knowledge as ignorance is vice? What is the
relationship between ethics and metaphysics here? There is none, but between ethics and
thinking you know what you don't know, namely what death is – there is a relationship.
Page 24: The Theology of Death
Page 25: “The most vital question in any study of the nature of death is this: in what sense can
death be said to be the destiny of Man? This will help us to answer further questions about the
natural character of death, and help us to understand Christ’s death and our own.
St. Thomas Aquinas is very clear about the nature of death. He says: “The necessity of dying for
Man is partly from nature and partly from sin. Death due to nature is caused by the contrary
elements of the body. Every material element in the body comprises active and passive elements
held together in a tenuous connection. From the point of view of these elements, death is natural.
Nor is there any power in the material elements themselves or in the soul to keep my body or
anybody from death. From the point of view of the body, then Man is mortal and doomed to die.
Page 26: St. Thomas Aquinas' Notion of Death
Yet, Man is not only a body, but also a soul. The soul is the spiritual element in Man's
composition. Philosophy and the Catechism call it the form of the body, that element in Man that
organizes matter into being, and into the being which is Man. Though the body tends to death
because of its contrary elements, it tends to life because of the presence of the soul. In fact, from
the point of view of the soul, death is not natural to Man. St. Thomas says: "A thing is said to be
natural if it proceeds from the principles of nature. Now the essential principles of nature are form
and matter. The form of Man is his reasoning soul, which is immortal, whereas death is not natural
to Man from the point of view of this form or this soul."
The first implication of this idea in the discussion of death should be that it is absolutely
impossible even from the standpoint of reason to maintain that death is the final destiny of Man,
or for that matter that life is absurd. Death is a fact, but it cannot be the destiny of Man for this
reduces Man to only the material order. In fact, there is no solution to the problem of death until it
is considered from the point of view of the soul.
Page 26: St. Thomas makes the point many times that the soul, in its action can only be fulfilled in
intelligence and understanding. Once the intellect knows one relationship of cause and effect, then the
power of the mind cannot be stilled until the first cause, the primary cause, the ultimate Cause (in this
case, God) is directly experienced. This is the magnetic pull of God for the soul; this is yearning for the
ultimate bliss that is experienced by all humans.
Page 27: Aristotle's Notion of Death
Aristotle speaks of this intellectual power or dynamism in his first book of metaphysics. He says
this: "For it is owing to their wonder that men both now begin and at first began to think
philosophically. They wondered originally about obvious difficulties, then advanced little by little
and stated difficulties about greater matters. For we know each thing only when we know its
ultimate cause." St. Thomas makes much of this text when he discusses the problem of human
destiny. He also exactly reproduces it when he considers that, even reason must reach the
necessary conclusion that Man must see God to be fulfilled. This is because of the natural desire
of the intellect. If this is true, our intelligence must see God to be fulfilled; this is our final
purpose, and Man must be able to live forever. According to Aristotle, anti-natural or violent conditions
cannot exist forever. Therefore, the ancient philosophers were brought by these considerations to a box
canyon.
Page 28: If the vision of God is the fulfillment of the soul, and the soul is the life of the body, then
by implication death cannot be man's end. Perhaps the body really ought not to die. A
philosopher would have to conclude that, though the body does die, the soul lives forever and
that this is not a natural condition, because the perpetual division of the dead body and the
immortal living soul would be an unnatural or anti-natural or violent condition. In us, the body
and the soul go together. According to Aristotle, anti-natural or violent conditions cannot exist
forever. Ancient philosophers, using only reason, were brought by these considerations to a
logical impasse, because they did not know of Christ’s resurrection.
Page 28: Man considered in this way is truly an absurdity. How are we to explain the fact that the soul
has this magnetic desire to go to God; the soul itself must live forever yet the body, which is inexorably
joined to the soul (absolutely necessary for the existence of the human being), dies forever?
Page 28: In fact, the resolution is not possible by reason. One has to experience the Bible, revelation and
especially the fact of resurrection to resolve it. Ancient philosophers could not solve this problem because
they did not know that Man had been and could be called to intimacy with God. They did not know about
grace.
Page 29: Seneca, an ancient Roman philosopher who taught that death was natural to man, taught
this because he did not know about the scriptures and he did not know about the condition of
man before the fall. Adam and Eve did not have the necessity of dying before the fall.
Page 30: St. Thomas says about them, "Seneca and the other philosophers considered human
nature according to those principles that belong to it (human nature) only from the principles of
nature. They did not know about the state of the first condition of original innocence, which is
held only by faith. Therefore, they only spoke about death as a natural defect, although this
natural defect for us is a punishment in some way.
Page 30: By way of conclusion, it is obvious that the death of Man is a tragedy that is caused by a much
deeper tragedy: the death brought about by sin. The experience of death without knowing about grace
causes an extreme tension within each human person because death seems so unnatural and absurd.
Page 30: This is not because life after death is just some sort of wishful thinking. The necessity of the
afterlife is perfectly reasonable because of our understanding of intelligence. Man in the state of sin is left
in a box canyon without an exit. This is because Man can know that the soul lives forever. However, for
the body to not share in this life is a violence that cannot be explained.
Page 31: The death of a human is a tragedy that is caused by a much deeper tragedy: the death
brought about by sin. The experience of death without knowing about grace causes an extreme
tension within each human person because death seems so unnatural and absurd. This is not
because life aſter death is just some sort of wishful thinking. The necessity of the aſterlife is
perfectly reasonable because of our understanding of intelligence. Man in the state of sin is leſt in
a maze without an exit. This is because man can know by reason that the soul lives forever.
However, for the body to not share in this life is a tragedy that cannot be explained. The source of
the tragedy is sin. The philosopher, who relies solely on reason, can recognize this as an
intolerable condition. He cannot possibly know why it exists. His only way forward is into despair;
hence, atheistic existentialism.
Page 31: But, for one who understands both the eternity of the soul and the unity between the body and
the soul, the death of the body is an absurdity precisely because of the immortality of the soul.
Page 32: If death were Man's destiny, sin would not be madness. However, the madness of sin
comes from the fact that men will exist, but in a completely unfulfilled state, Man without grace
can have no natural completion. And there can be no completion for the eternally-existing soul,
because union with God is impossible. The man who understands grace understands that there is
a twofold resurrection that corresponds to this twofold death. To the death of the soul, we have
the resurrection of the soul and sanctifying grace. And to the death of the body we have the
resurrection of the dead, which is the perfect completion of the resurrection of the soul.
Page 33: This power was lost when sin entered the world. Sin, which is death of the soul, leads to
the necessity of the death of the body. There are then two deaths of Man who is in the state of
original sin: the death of the soul is the cause of the necessary death of the body.
Page 33: Of course, we know that the soul does not die in its being, and yet it is like something dead,
because as the soul gives life to the body, so God gives life to the soul. A soul that cannot experience
communion with God is as though dead. And that is why we call the sin by which we lose grace "mortal
sin."
Page 34: Pope John Paul II's Notion of Death
John Paul II has said this: "Jesus had the clear vision of God, and the certainty of his union with
the Father dominated his mind (on the cross). But in the sphere bordering on the senses...Jesus'
human soul was reduced to a wasteland.
Page 35: What should our attitude be towards death?
It should be the same as the Lord's.
For the Christian, death is not darkness, an absurdity, or a plunge into a nonsensical unknown. The
Christian knows that death is painful and sorrowful. It is not a pleasant experience. It is a punishment for
the original sin. Still, the Christian should not worry about physical death.
Page 36: What gives death its sting? Is it that the body dies and corrupts in the grave?
One who has lived a life of union with God on earth knows with the firmest conviction of faith and
of reason that the soul lives forever. One also knows, following the resurrection of Christ, with the
firmest conviction of faith that he or she will have a part in that resurrection.
Page 36 The real problem with death is that it is painful. But for one who has faith, there should be no
uncertainty about what lies beyond death, nor does one have to resolve the seeming contradiction of the
spirit's dying by merely projecting something nice and wonderful and possible afterward.
Page 37: The real absurdity of death consists of someone knowing what lies beyond the grave, and yet
going to it unprepared. The sting of death is sin.
Page 38: MAN AND DEATH
Page 39: Human attitudes toward death, as well as our behavior in the face of death, have
changed in the last quarter of the century: death and dying stopped being an unmentionable
question and became the topic of numerous discussions. Now death is being interpreted in
various aspects (medical, psychological, legal, or sociological) by thanatologists who
scientifically treat this fact and propose rational attitudes toward death.
Page 40: One can ask, however, if it is possible to explain death scientifically. May one demand
his or her right to die in the same way as human beings demand their right to live? What is death:
is it a phenomenon of life, its natural end? What is the ultimate sense of death in the total
existence of man? If Thanatologists do not answer these questions clearly, can philosophy give
proper answers?
Page 40: From the philosophical point of view, we should recognize first that we can experience death,
because we ought to know the cognitive value of our conceptions and judgments about death and its
relation to the whole of human existence.
Page 41: Only human beings experience death as an ultimate and shocking event. In the world of
nature, we deal only with the phenomenon of passing, which is something natural for animate
creatures other than human beings. Why does man experience death as something unnatural;
what does he see in it?
Page 41: One cannot experience its essence for when he dies he experiences it personally but cannot
transmit the content of his experience to the others after his death. He falls silent; the dead ones tell us
nothing about death and about the life that follows.
Page 42: We can experience death only in others' dying and only until they die. So it is given to us
as an ultimate personal event in the life of another human being, never as an event of mine. This
is the principal limitation of the possibility of our experience of death. We know it must happen,
but it is always far away. Thus, it is given to us in a one-sided manner; exclusively on that side of
life. Death itself designates the limits of the possibility of its experience.
Page 42: Thus, we come to an understanding of death by analyzing our actual existence in the light of the
one-sided experience of death and dying by others.
Page 42: What can we say of death itself? We are sure that it will come into our lives; each of us certainly
will die. What can it be then: the law of life and destination of our existence; the entrance into a new life,
or a destruction of our being?
Page 42: Death comes into our lives without any rules, inconsiderately and irrationally, as a thief, a dark
power that we cannot control or understand.
Page 43: Death cannot be given any exact definition or conception: it is something negative and
absurd. Its "eidos" and its own "What" is best expressed with the image of a skeleton with a
scythe. Anything that could positively be said of death, e.g., that it introduces seriousness in
human life or makes us spiritually mature, can be derived from the fact that human beings
discover some sense for the experience of death in themselves as a religious act of sacrifice for
some other higher values or as an act of resignation.
Page 44: Given such experiences of death, it is remarkable that human beings have been
opposing the idea of personal immortality to the phenomenon of death throughout the history of
mankind. What is the reason for this fact: is it only the fear of death, or, is it perhaps some
experience of the immortality of ourselves? It should be remembered that the conception of the
soul itself and its immortality is posterior to the idea of personal immortality. The conception of an
immortal soul is connected with the attempts to find some rational arguments that have been
made since the birth of philosophy.
