Original scientific paper

Tolstoy’s Short Story »The Death of Ivan Ilyich« in the Context of Heidegger’s Analysis of Death in the Work »Being and Time«

Daniel Miščin ; Faculty of Philosophy of the Society of Jesus in Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia

Abstract

The relation between Tolstoy’s short story »The Death of Ivan Ilyich« and Heidegger’s analysis of death in the work »Being and Time« arouses attention primarily because it is possible to justify the thesis that Heidegger elaborates theoretically some essentially ontical elements of Tolstoy’s insights, accepts and adjusts them to his existential onthology. The relevance of these »inherited« elements in Heidegger’s teaching on death is so great (especially with relation to the formulation of his concept »das Man« which is an expression and instrument of this impersonality) that the importance of this relation can hardly be exaggerated. On the other hand, reading Tolstoy’s short story in this light encourages us to move ahead the »hermeneutic center« of the short story. In contrast to the usual understanding that Ivan Ilyich’s relation to death alters with the first signs of his illness, the cited »philosophical hermeneutics« of the short story shall demonstrate that its true focus is elsewhere: on the renowned meditation on Gaj and its implications.

Keywords

death; Leo Nikolayevitch Tolstoy; Heidegger; das Man; impersonality; speech; authenticity; Rilke

Hrčak ID:

94024

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/94024

Publication date:

15.1.2013.

Article data in other languages: croatian

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