Continental Philosophy

Heidegger on Death and Resoluteness

Primary Sources:

Heidegger, Being and Time, Part One, Division Two: Introduction and Section I
(Sartre, Being and Nothingness, Part Four, Chapter One, section II.E ("My Death"))

Secondary Sources:

H. Dreyfus, Being-in-the-World, Appendix
R. Olson, Existentialism, chapter VII
P. Edwards, Heidegger on Death
F. Olafson, Heidegger and the Philosophy of Mind, part I, chapters 3 - 6
R. Schmitt, Heidegger on Being Human, chapter 5, section III
D. Cooper, Existentialism, chapter 8
J. MacQuarrie, Existentialism, chapter 10
M.A. Slote, "Existentialism and the Fear of Dying", American Philosophical Quarterly, 12, 1975

Literary Illustrations:

Leo Tolstoy, The Death of Ivan Illyich
Sartre, The Wall

Questions:

Is death what confers meaning on life, or what removes all meaning from life? Are these two interpretations totally opposed, or fundamentally the same? What effect does authentic Being-towards-death (in which death is anticipated) have on Dasein's Being?

What is resoluteness and what does it have to do with authenticity? What is conscience? What is guilt?

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