Can Accepting Death Set You Free?
Martin Heidegger on How to Live Authentically

History & Background — Should I Take Advice From a Nazi?
Martin Heidegger was an existential philosopher whose influence is undeniable. In 1927 he published his magnum opus Being and Time. This behemoth of introspection and invented terms set out to answer, what Heidegger considered, the most fundamental and important question of philosophy: What is “being”. Heidegger talks at length about the reality and importance of human experience. In contrast, the one thing that most people know about Matin Heidegger is that he was once a Nazi. Only five years after writing Being and Time Heidegger joined the Nazi party in 1933. Heidegger never does more than vaguely reference his Nazi involvement and for the most part, it seems he likes to act as if he wasn't even there. In any light, Heidegger's writings were powerful works of existentialism and phenomenology, laying the groundwork for Jean-Paul Sartre and many great thinkers to come.
Read Being and Time by Martin Heidegger on Amazon
What is “Being”?
Heidegger believed that philosophers had long been wasting their time espousing on the issues of the universe because they have yet to address the most fundamental question: What does it mean to exist? Hopefully, all of us accept that we are beings and that we are here. Great. So, what does “being” even mean? Heidegger admits it can be treacherous to define such a term that has been used and thought of so broadly. So, he attempts to shed some of the baggage and presumptions associated with “Being” by instead coining the term Dasein. Dasein roughly translated to “being there” and consists of the totality of our conscious experience, including death. Dasein blurs the line between subject and object i.e. you and the world you exist in.
Dasein — “Being There”- A being that understands that it exists. You, your existence, the world you are in, are all part of the Dasien.
What makes us beings? And what kind of beings are we? We’ll to exist is to be there. To be where? Well, In time of course, and to exist in time means to be temporary. The fact that we exist means one day we won't, and by virtue of living, we are on the path to dying. Heidegger thus defines us as “beings towards death.”
Death is not the after of dasein, it is not some future event yet to come. Death is a fundamental part of existence, one’s utmost potential yet to be realized. Our existence is inseparable from time and therefore inseparable from death. Death is a part of being, but time is what makes us beings towards death. Thus the title of Heidegger’s book: Being & Time.
Death -One’s own most non-relational possibility not-to-be-bypassed.b
What Do We Mean by “Authentic”?
Martin Heidegger was a phenomenologist (an ontological phenomenologist for you nerds out there) Which, among other things, means that he believed in the great value and truth of personal experience. What is “real”, is what is real to you and real in your conscious experience. Heidegger tries to dispel the notion of objectivity and the conception of “correct” and “incorrect” existence. instead, he chooses to use the term authenticity. A Dasein is either authentic or inauthentic, you are either making the choice to live authentically or you are making the choice to live inauthentically. There is no in-between or sitting out. In other words, there is no “right” or “wrong” way for one to live and exist. However, one can live in bad faith and deceit thus by not remaining true to one’s self, live inauthentically.
There are many ways to become inauthentic. Mainly, through the imposition of others, whom Heidegger calls the “they”. When you deny yourself for the sake of another’s opinion when you adhere to a religious view that was forced on you or when you repress an emotion that someone deems inappropriate you are living inauthentically. Heidegger believes we must live for the self, not for the they.
Authenticity — Authentic Being is its own measure, in other words when it does not have to justify its existence as compared with anything else.
How Not to Deal with Death

Now that we understand our existence as “beings towards death” We need to determine how we should be towards death. What’s the best way to live authentically? Why, to avoid living inauthentically, of course! So let us explore the wrong ways of dealing with death.
Anxiety - The anxiety and the evasion of death is a distortion of your dasein by the they. Dying is essentially and irreplaceable yours. It is not some public event to be made real by the recounting of others. We cannot understand our own death through the deaths of others, because death is the utmost potential of a being, once that potential is fulfilled there is no being to report back. To try and defy death or to deny your own death is to deny yourself and allow that part of yourself to exist inauthentically.
Tranquility - Tranquility or acceptance of death is also inauthentic. “The they do not allow us the courage to have angst about our own death.” By comforting us by promises of future health or reassurances of the afterlife, the they distort our own being. Death is non-relational, its experience or understanding can not be shared. To be tranquil of or deny death is to deny one’s being towards death. Another way to cover over the authentic self.
Anticipation- To anticipate death is to deem it as a future event to happen sometime later. It covers over and denies the certainty of death by distorting the authentic fact that death can and will come at any moment.
How to Live with Death
Now that we see what Heidegger thinks we shouldn't do. Let’s try and figure out what we can do to become authentic beings.
Step One: Accept the Imminence of Death: To live authentically is to recognize your temporal nature, to know that death is with you and you may succumb to it at any moment. Being towards death is the fundamental essence of our being.

Step Two: Take Ownership of Death: Death is non-relational. So stop trying to relate it! No one can ever be a part of your death, or experience it for you. No one can tell you what it’s like, or offer any comfort. Death is essentially and irreplaceably yours.

Step Three: Admit Your Ignorance of Death: To deny, distort or devalue death is to deceive yourself. We know we will die, and that is about all we know. Any empirical knowledge or study of death is futile. If you have any perceived understanding of death “as it is” that is purely an illusion, a way to cover over your authentic conception of Death. Death can never be understood and it could only be experienced by you alone.
Combine our three steps and meet your new and authentic lease on life:

Now What? We cannot live authentically unless we live authentically with time, and in turn, death. To deny or distort death is to deny ourselves. We cannot “be” authentic unless we accept all that it means to be; including the imminence of death. Once we can accept the totality of our being, we are free to pursue our true selves and thrive to continue into authenticity. The definition of which is entirely up to you to determine.

