- STORY OF DEATH BY HEIDEGGER
- Introduction
- Heidegger apparently presents a distinct interpretation of death far from its normally perceived conceptualization. The explanation of death not simply provides the rational picture in the society but he tried to implicate something beyond the normal understanding. He remarked that death to him was futural, since it will always come out the future, and his conceptualization of death made him be ahead. The manner in which Heidegger remarked his position to death was that he was thrown to his own death. Following his interpretation of death therefore, Heidegger did not perceive death as pure nothingness but absolutely a possibility. Heidegger does not actually reprint death as the end of existence and the explanation of the death of Ivan facilitates his conception of the daily tranquilization relation with death. Ivan later realizes that his real illness is not primarily his physical ailment but rather an existing ailment namely that of living what Heidegger call an “inauthentic” life, in other words, a life in which one has not fully come to terms with the meaning of one’s own death.
- Suffering in the death of Ivan Illych
- The implications in the story of death by Heidegger portray Ivan as a dying man from the beginning to the end. This is reprinted in two unfolds which include the indifference as well as the deceptiveness of the family of Ivan together with the acquaintances in regard to his illness. The other unfold include the thoughts as well as the feeling crisscrossing Ivan’s mind when he undergoes the physical and mental anguish and looks forward to understand the implications of his past as well as future. Gerasim, Ivan’s butler poses the indifference of the real world whereby he holds the legs of Ivan and places them onto his shoulders in order to relieve the pain (Tolstoy 114). Contrary to the world of death perceived by Ivan, Gerasim is in a distinct world where he interprets the real meaning of suffering and death which are totally varied from the imaginary world that Ivan is subjected to.
- Ivan is subjected to pain and suffering and seen as a dying man and the implications that he has are referred by Heidegger as the situation of a person not in terms with their own death (Large 60). As Ivan contemplates on the meaning of life and his death, he realizes that his conformity sort of life was a mere deception and that he was left with no defense about it. When lying on his bed Ivan is seen to move beyond the certainty of the condition he was in to salvation. Basing on the death and suffering of Ivan, Heidegger was implicating to the daily tranquilization association to death as perceived by many. From this excerpt of Ivan’s death and his interpretation to his condition, Heidegger tries to reveal death under four dimensions as applicable in our daily lives including the fact that death is non-relational, affirmed, and indefinite as well as not being in the outstripped.
- In real life situation and through the implications of Heidegger through Ivan’s convictions of death, it is evident that death cannot be experienced through other people deaths but through relation to one’s death. Death is certain as per the implications from Ivan’s death in that despite of the fact that one might deviate or evade from the reality, everyone remains justified that life’s destiny is death. For sure, everyone anticipates and wishes for a prolonged life except under certain oppressing conditions resulting to forfeiting the wish. Albeit the conception of suffering as an indication of death and the state of people being affirmed that death is certain, no one is absolute sure when it is supposed to happen. Considering the implications of Heidegger that death is not outstripped, the argument aligns to the aspect of death being damned important, especially for cases of bringing suffering to halt. Ivan’s death as illustrated by Heidegger in his rationalization poses the deemed perception of the still relation to death in the real life situation.
- The eminent paradoxical quote from Heidegger “possibility of impossibility” implicates the lack of power to trumping death and as he remarks, it surpasses the possibilities that the power of free projection possesses (Heidegger et al., 283). Heidegger supports numerous aspects from his conceptualization of one’s relation towards death and re-affirms that despite of death being a dilemma for everyone, the reality is that none can evade its vengeance when its strikes and the worst implication is that no one knows the exact moment that it will strike although we remain sure that it is certainly going to strike someday.
- In this case, Heidegger stand on a phenomenal position to provide the clarity between the state of anticipation and expectation whereby he explains that the awaiting of death encompasses too much of the reality whereby death will be indicated as the actualization of possibility, though his attitude and perception would be deemed gloomy philosophy of morbidity. Contrary to this argument, Heidegger seems to hold the position that anticipation does not unreceptively await death, but in return mobilizes transience as the state of free action in the world. As perceived in the view of death as the possibility of impossibility, hides the acceptance on a person’s transience limitation as the foundation of the confirmation of the person’s life. In essence, nothing is morose in relation to being towards death.
- The assertion of Heidegger’s thoughts and assumptions is that being on the verge of death pulls dasein from its captivation in authentic daily life and supports it to being its own. In relevance to the assumption of being on the verge of death as perceived in the genuine state, the implications from Heidegger’s interpretation of own relation with death is direct and powerful. The argument of Heidegger in relation to death imprints authentic death as one’s own and dying for someone else simply implies being in a state of self sacrifice which provides a direct understanding of his message that someone’s death is absolutely secondary whereas own death remains to be primary.
- Whereas, this argument by Heidegger can be criticized under the basis that his conception on death proves both false and morally insidious, it still holds the fact that death comes to the real world through the death of relatives, friends and other associates or familiar people in the society. Greif mostly dominates the events related to death and this remains to be a gloomy situation. Nevertheless, as implicated in the case of Ivan, death signifies the end of life and to some extent, freedom from suffering.
- Conclusion
- The conceptualization of own relation to death as Heidegger explains in relation to Ivan’s death is that death is certain and unpredictable. This holds the reality and many abide by the same belief. Death is the end of life and Heidegger tries to justify that only when a person undergoes death that is considered primary but dying for someone else is deemed sacrificial act. The suffering and imaginations that Ivan undergoes before death is the implication of the real life situations perceived by different people under similar circumstances. Heidegger poses the life and suffering of Ivan as the dying man and his freedom to be justified by death. The ailment that Ivan suffers from is not a physical one but an existential life whereby Heidegger refers is as due to failure of understanding or coming into terms with one’s death. The suffering that Heidegger believes that humans die but plants just perish thus supposing the traditional view point. Despite of the fact that the argument of Heidegger might be seen false and morally insidious, it bears truth in that death comes through the loss of our relatives and close or familiar people.
- References
- Heidegger, Martin, and Joan Stambaugh. Being and Time: A Translation of Sein Und Zeit. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 1996. Print.
- Large, William. Heidegger's Being and Time: An Edinbrugh Philosophical Guide. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2008. Print.
- Tolstoy, Leo, and T C. B. Cook. The Death of Ivan Ilyich and Other Stories. Ware, Hertfordshire: Wordsworth Editions, Ltd, 2004. Print.
1350 Words 4 Pages
