A Closer Look At Man And Mortality
Humans are the only species that understand that there is an end to life. Man even created an entire discipline to study the finite nature of man, philosophy. We spend a lot of time thinking about death. It seems as if our awareness of our mortality pushes our reflections on our daily decisions to a transcendental level.
Borges, in his story The Immortal, tells the story of a man who lives forever. At one point in the story, this man encounters Homer, who is also immortal.
After the meeting, he thinks, “I said goodbye to Homer at the gates of Tangier. I don’t think we said goodbye.” Two people who are immortal don’t have to say goodbye. For there is no end that could be an obstacle to a reunion.
Human beings ‘thrown’ on Earth
As we mentioned above, every moment of your life is unique because your path forward is a path to death. It’s like just being thrown into a world where their historical, social and family situations are already a given. Does this mean that your life is predetermined?
Martin Heidegger, the foremost existentialist philosopher of the 20th century, believed that realizing our finite nature makes authentic thinking extremely desirable. Inauthentic thinking is irreflexive and does not help you to live a full life.
Human Beings and Inauthentic Thinking
To better understand what inauthentic thinking is, imagine this common situation. You get into a taxi, the radio is on and the taxi driver starts telling you about the news he is listening to. He tells you his opinion on the subject, which you might have already inferred based on the radio station he’s listening to.
Heidegger believed that repeating the ideas and opinions of others without thinking about it is inauthentic. The taxi driver (just an example) does not think about what he says. Instead, he just repeats the opinions of others.
According to Heidegger, an inauthentic life is when you live your life in the outside world. Your life there is reflective and unaware of its mortality. However, when people are aware of their mortality, they are interested in having their own thoughts and making their own decisions.
Human Beings, Authentic Thinking and Mortality
Man comes from nothing and will return to nothing. Your condition as a human being (strong presence beings on their way to a future) makes you think more about possibilities than about reality.
You are your possibilities and the possibility above all possibilities is death. So it doesn’t matter what you decide to do with your life. You will eventually die anyway. Mortality is a constant companion of all of us.
People who choose an authentic life do so because of the fear they feel when they think about death. How does it feel when you think about nothing, about ceasing to exist.
They make their decisions knowing that lives are unique and any moment could be your last. They know that no one can die for them and that death is but a moment to surpass all other moments.
