Death and the definition of the human person
Philosophy is among the subjects that I have right now that I believe are unnecessary simply because thought alone without the accompaniment of action is fruitless and futile, if not totally counter-productive. Philosophy is a leisure that not many people possess. To survive, people need to act, and not only and solely engage themselves in thinking. Despite this, I admit that I glean a lot of little truths and knowledge in my exploration of the thoughts of prominent philosophers. Though they may not be as efficient as the real world in teaching the lessons of life, they help in my survival and in my comprehension of it.
Gabriel Marcel, one of the few philosophers our class is doing a close reading of, once compared life to a series of lottery tickets: most of life happens in and with chance, and the only definite thing is a death in which one does not know of the time or place of its occurrence.
In the end, reflecting upon that paragraph, the only thing that is certain about life is the negation of it – death.
Within everyone, death is an ambivalence. It is both familiar to us because most, if not all of us experience or have experienced that sense of loss whenever a loved one passes on to the other side; yet it is also unfamiliar because most of us do not believe that it will happen to us in the near future. For most of us, death is something that will inevitably happen but is something that is distant from us. When it comes to death, also, the living are inexperienced. One can only experience a physical death once, and he can never return to the world of the living to tell its tale. Death, then, is something both known and unknown, but in the end what we know of it is the same as what we do not know of it: both aspects are incomplete.
I believe that looking at death as if it were something that will arrive later in the future is incorrect. It loses that sense of immediacy and agency. Death is not something that waits upon anyone: on the contrary, it is the one who acts ruthlessly to many, mercifully to others, but always with speed and quickness. I believe death should be looked upon as a looming spectre, as if it were the sword of Damocles. A thin string of chances holds together our lives as it does with the sword. It may fall anytime, however: it can fall sixty years from now, or it can fall later today.
My belief towards death is my belief towards how I live my life. A philosopher once said that life was a series of infinite moments of the present time. There was neither past nor future. They were merely present that has been, and present that will be. Life does not live in the past or the future.
I realized this not too long ago. Living in the past was as futile as living for the future. The uncertainty of death which hovers above every human life makes this true. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world but loses his own soul? Academic excellence is pretty much the insurance one pays to profit him the whole world later on in life. Yet the fact still looms that he may not enjoy it, and it is a certainty that he cannot enjoy it fully for he has to pass his riches on to his heir. This does not mean that I do not believe in the academe, or that I believe in mediocrity (as much as this seems to imply): what I really want to deliver is that I believe there is more to life than the excellence in the academe.
I believe what is needed by every human being nowadays is a personal excellence, and excellence that reaches out instead of taking in; I believe in an excellence that is not and cannot be defined by numbers alone. I believe in a human excellence.
I may have failed in some examinations. My grades may not have been as high as they were when I was in high school or in elementary. However, I have made more friends; I have become a more holistic person; and I can sincerely say that I have reached out more to other people and have become a better person. Grades help with the improvement of one’s status and state in life. This, however, should not be our judge for the person. A person is much, much more than the grades he has gotten, and I have fully realized this only now.
In my opinion, thinking is a big part of your life. Not just thinking about what to do, but rather thinking what you’ve done, a.k.a reflections.
Posted 2 years, 1 month agoIt is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart.
Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better.
The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.
Ecclesiastes 7:2-4
Posted 2 years, 1 month agoSummary of your test: You failed in some expectations and now you are depressed. Get laid, that usually fixes it :-3
Posted 2 years, 1 month agoMany right things stated in the text. I recommend everyone to read Ecclesiastes from the Bible, it addresses the same issue. Some people often claim that human being is the only being that is conscious of his/her death, but I disagree with this. We are aware of death but our mind doesn’t really acknowledge it to keep us from sinking in despair.
Posted 2 years, 1 month agoAs for wealth, career and all the stuff you own, when the time to part comes you can’t take any of it with you. Besides the wealthier you are, the less value things have for you – obviously when you can buy whatever your heart desires, that object loses any emotional value. But when you work your ass off for something, it really feels worth it. This is why I pity rich people, because in the end their life is quite empty and they strive to fill the gap with all kinds of ridiculous stuff and pleasures. Death nullifies all accounts and pays the debts.
And life itself isn’t a straight line, you can forge your own path and figure out the things you like. In the modern world dreaming and living for experiences is something kids do and isn’t considered suitable for an adult – an adult must work, marry and fulfill his/her duty by producing offspring. It’s a shame really, that while our resources increase by the age, our life becomes more and more limited, until we can withdraw from working life.
Hello mike,
Ever heard of “Every person chooses his own life”? Bet you never heard, cuz’ i just came up with it.
In any case, what i wanted to say here is that; You are ‘made’ as a result of your choices, and solely your own choices.
Sure, you can say ‘Someone did this, so i had to do that’, but have you ever thought that it’s still your own choice in the end? Personally, i believe that everything in this world is based off choice. You could say coincidence made you meet someone, which in turn lead you to do something; however it is ultimately still your choice that brought you to that meeting.
Okay. Firstly, I’d like to state that while i am neither an expert in English, nor am i a Critic; I need to point out those mistakes that you have made whilst on the course of this post.
One good guide you can use is to read what you’re written, aloud. If you fail to read it aloud properly, pausing only at the commas and breaking at the periods. Please recheck your punctuation. I, for one am unable to read that extremely long line you have chosen to start with.
Secondly, if you write, one bad thing is to be going around begging for comments. If there is something to comment about, people would be doing so already.
Thirdly, I quote : “In the end, reflecting upon that paragraph, the only thing that is certain about life is the negation of it – death.” I find that this line is interesting for you to mention. Some people believe that every ‘good’ thing has a equal and opposite ‘bad’ thing, vice versa; whether it happened or is to happen. But, yes- one of the very few things about life that IS certain, is the negation of it by death.
Finally, Keep writing.
p.s. Sorry for writing an near-post length reply on your post. Have a good day
Posted 2 years, 1 month agop.s.s. Feel free to point out things and mistakes i have made/ mis-understood