Being-Toward-Death
Heideggerian concept that authentic existence involves acknowledging death as one's ownmost possibility. Death is the possibility of impossibility—cessation of all possibilities. Being-toward-death individualizes, making clear what is genuinely mine. Most people flee death through distraction and they-self conformity. Authentic being-toward-death doesn't brood on death but lives with awareness of finitude. Death gives life urgency and meaning. Memento mori tradition resonates with Heideggerian analysis. Confronting death liberates from trivial concerns.
Your Reaction
Similar Philosophical Concept
Authenticity
Existentialist concept of living in accordance with one's true self rather than social expectations. Heidegger's …
Nihilism
Philosophy asserting that life lacks inherent meaning, purpose, or value. Nihilism questions traditional morality, religion, …
Existentialism
Philosophical movement emphasizing individual existence, freedom, and choice. Existentialism asserts that existence precedes essence—humans create …
Angst
Existentialist concept of anxiety arising from confronting freedom, death, and meaninglessness. Kierkegaard described angst as …
Absurdism
Philosophy acknowledging the conflict between human need for meaning and the universe's indifference. Camus's The …
Nirvana
Buddhist concept of the cessation of suffering and liberation from samsara. Nirvana literally means blowing …
Becoming
Deleuzian concept emphasizing change over static identity. Reality is becoming rather than being. We are …
Samsara
Hindu and Buddhist concept of the cycle of death and rebirth. Beings are reborn according …
Explore Related Domains
Discover connections across different types of entities
Being and Time
Heidegger's magnum opus fundamentally reorients philosophy by examining the question of Being through the lens …
The Denial of Death
Becker's Pulitzer Prize-winning work synthesizes psychology, philosophy, and anthropology to argue that the fear of …
Because I could not stop for Death
Dickinson's meditation personifies Death as a gentleman caller. Through a carriage ride to eternity, it …
Martin Heidegger
German philosopher whose work on Being and Time revolutionized phenomenology and existentialism. Heidegger's concepts of …
Arthur Schopenhauer
German philosopher who developed a metaphysical system centered on the concept of Will. Schopenhauer's pessimistic …
Aubade
Larkin's bleak meditation on death faces mortality without consolation. Through waking at 4am to confront …
Friedrich Nietzsche
German philosopher who declared God's death and championed life-affirmation. Nietzsche's concepts of will to power, …
Søren Kierkegaard
Danish philosopher and theologian regarded as the father of existentialism. Kierkegaard explored the individual's relationship …