Mortality and the Other

In this exploration of a broadly Heideggerian and a broadly Wittgensteinian view of the personal nature of mortality, I shall argue that (i) coming to grips with the personal nature of mortality requires a recognition of our personal uniqueness; and (ii) attention to the mortality of those others that we love and care for most is an exemplary form of the recognition of personal uniqueness. The former claim is shared by both positions under consideration. The latter is a more Wittgensteinian point which is in tension with Heidegger’s way of orienting the reader's attention.