Heidegger's ideas about death

Abstract

Death has always been a major concern of humanity since the beginning of history, and finding the secret of immortality and escaping death has become the subject of many myths and ancient stories. Among philosophers who have addressed the subject of death, Heidegger addressed not only immortality and life after death but also the nature of death during one's existence. In his view, man (which he named Existence) through death becomes aware of his finitude, and thus, Heidegger chooses human beings as the only way of understanding existence among creatures. Heidegger critiques the philosophy of his predecessors and traditional metaphysics and defines his final thought as understanding existence. In his view, the most authentic thought about existence comes from wisdom, and that thought can begin when human beings believe that the idea of a saviour among the centuries is the largest enemy of original thought. In his view, death is the most original form of the possibility of Existence that threatens the entire universe, so the existence understood by the notions of the way to be in charge of his own life. “Heidegger” is trying to show the truth that man (Existence), unlike any other living creature, is terminally affected by destruction and death. (Evans, 1998, p. 212). This paper also discusses Heidegger's ideas about death.