Fear of Death and Authenticity
How Heidegger's distinction between biological and primordial death can help us see facing death as a gateway to authenticity
One question that always comes up in my philosophy classes is that of human beings’ fundamental motivation. Years of teaching philosophy has only affirmed my suspicion that the dominant narrative in the culture in which I reside is that human beings are biological animals motivated by survival. Most students assume that the origin of all actions can be traced back to the avoidance of physical death. I have always been a bit uneasy with this conclusion, as it would imply that all our actions are essentially futile and that they can be boiled down to an attempt to avoid the inevitable. I think many do not notice this core of nihilism contained in the claim that we are nothing more than biological animals fighting for survival. Of course, if this were true, we would have to accept the unfortunate truth. Fortunately, though, I think that there is an alternative way to interpret our desperate striving for security and permanence in the face of the insecurity and impermanence of life.
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