Intro to Philo Lesson 9 - PDF

# Human Persons as Oriented Toward Their Impending Death ## Bucket List - It refers to a list of things that one has not done before, but wants to do before dying. (www.merriam-webster.com) - Spending time with loved ones - Traveling - Eating exotic foods - Adventures - Saying "Sorry", "Thank you"...

# Human Persons as Oriented Toward Their Impending Death ## Bucket List - It refers to a list of things that one has not done before, but wants to do before dying. (www.merriam-webster.com) - Spending time with loved ones - Traveling - Eating exotic foods - Adventures - Saying "Sorry", "Thank you", "I love you." ## Things that you wish you had done... ## Prepared by: MR. ANTONIO T. DELGADO Faculty, Social Science Department General De Jesus College ## Guide Questions 1. What is the medical/legal definition of death? 2. How do the philosophers Socrates, Epicurus and Thomas Nagel view death? 3. Whose view are you inclined to believe? 4. How does the inevitability of death contribute meaning to the experience of life? ## Traditional Definition - Death - was simply equated to the stopping of heartbeat and breathing. ## Legal Definition - Section 2, paragraph (j) of the Organ Donation Act of 1991 (Republic Act 7170): "(j) "Death" - the irreversible cessation of circulatory and respiratory functions or the irreversible cessation of all functions of the entire brain, including the brain stem. A person shall be medically and legally dead if either: - (1) In the opinion of the attending physician, based on the acceptable standards of medical practice, there is an absence of natural respiratory and cardiac functions and, attempts at resuscitation would not be successful in restoring those functions. In this case, death shall be deemed to have occurred at the time these functions ceased; or - (2) In the opinion of the consulting physician, concurred in by the attending physician, that on the basis of acceptable standards of medical practice, there is an irreversible cessation of all brain functions; and considering the absence of such functions, further attempts at resuscitation or continued supportive maintenance would not be successful in restoring such natural functions. In this case, death shall be deemed to have occurred at the time when these conditions first appeared. ## What happens to the human person after death? ## Reincarnation - It is the philosophical or religious concept that an aspect of a living being starts a new life in a different physical body or form after each biological death. ## Can we know this for certain? ## Socrates on Death - Death is either: - Possibility #1: Dreamless sleep - Possibility #2: Passage to another life Therefore, either way, death is nothing to fear. "No man knows whether death may not even turn out to be the greatest blessing for a human being; and yet people fear it as if they knew for certain that it is the greatest of evil." - Socrates ## Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone "After all, to the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure." ## Shishio Makoto, Samurai X "Well, don't just stand there. Let's get going." "Where do you think? To conquer this place called Hell of course." ## But what if there is no afterlife? - Bethoven Delmar, Jr. "WALA NA FINISH NA” ## Would you still fear death? ## Maybe what we actually fear is the process of dying. ## How does death feel? ## Epicurus on Death - All sensation and consciousness ends with death. - When a man dies, he does not feel the pain of death because he no longer is and therefore feels nothing. - Fearing nonexistence gets in the way of enjoying life. "Death... is nothing to us." - Epicurus "Non fui, fui, non sum, non curo." - **Epicurean Epitaph** "I was not; I was; I am not; I do not care." - **Epicurean Epitaph** ## Or maybe what we actually fear is being deprived of possibilities. ## Thomas Nagal "If death is an evil at all, it cannot be because of its positive features, but only because of what it deprives us of." - Thomas Nagel ## Nagel on Death - #fomo: Fear of missing out - In conclusion, Nagel thinks that the only real evil of death is dying prematurely. "...none of us existed before we were born (or conceived), but few regard that as a misfortune." - Thomas Nagel ## #regrets ## Would we feel regret if there is no death? ## It can be argued that it is death that gives meaning to life ## You Only Live Once, But If You Do It Right, Once Is Enough So, live life to the fullest. While you still can. ## Questions? ## Evaluation 1. What is the medical/legal definition of death? 2. How do the philosophers Socrates, Epicurus and Thomas Nagel view death? 3. Whose view are you inclined to believe? 4. How does the inevitability of death contribute meaning to the experience of life? ## Thanks for Listening! ## References 1. Sioco, M.P. and Vinzons, I. (2016). *Introduction to the Philosophy of the Human Person*. Quezon City: Vibal Group, Inc. pp. 207 - 215 2. CrashCourse. (2016, June 13). *Perspectives on Death: Crash Course Philosophy #17*. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjQwedC1WzI&t=9s