本文通过对国内外死亡学研究现状的分析，提出了建构新型死亡形上理论——死亡现象学的构想。为使这一构想具有坚实的理论根基，本文对死亡现象学的本体论基础、主要研究方法和基本体系构成从宏观层面进行了分析与讨论，认为死亡现象学是运用现象学的诠释学方法研究死亡问题而形成的一门关于死亡本体和意义的科学，是现象学的一门分支学科。与死亡医学、死亡心理学、死亡社会学等各种死亡实证科学不同，它不是对与死亡相关的各种自然知识或社会知识的概括和总结，而是对隐含于死亡实证知识背后并支撑着死亡实证科学的有关死亡的内在本质理论的哲学探究。为了达成上述目标，本文对西方自古希腊、中世纪至近现代人学思想的理论谱系进行了深入细致的梳理，在充分肯定西方传统人论历史作用的同时，指出了其固有的根本缺陷，并从死亡现象学的视角提出了人的全新定义：人是基于死亡意识而建构生存信念并使之外化为文化创造活动的综合统一的历史性此在。随着这一定义的提出，对人的全部研究工作就移置到一个新的基础之上。首先，本文对此在死亡意识的形成过程、世上其它存在者的存在状况与此在死亡意识的内在关联性、时空之于此在死亡意识的重要意义、死亡形上学的基本内涵进行了诠释，从而为死亡现象学的建立奠定了坚实的本体论基础。其次，本文对在死亡意识基础之上产生的生存信念进行了深入探讨。一方面，详细分析了生存信念的基本内涵、死亡意识之于生存信念的根源性作用。另一方面，又对人类生存信念多维价值谱系中的真、善、美、圣这四种最为重要的价值信念进行了死亡现象学的阐释，并深入研究了作为精神冲突的生存信念危机的主要成因、具体表现和克服方法。最后，本文指出死亡意识和生存信念的矛盾冲突构成了人类文化创造活动的内在动力，主张文化是人性的主要表征和人类所独有的生存方式，是人类赋予自己的生命以尊严、价值和意义，以便超越死亡的基本手段。以此认知为基础，本文在从横向的共时性层面剖析生死理念与各种文化形式（神话、宗教、语言、艺术、历史、科技）之间互动关系的同时，又从纵向的历时性层面揭示了生死理念之于前现代文化、现代文化和后现代文化的重要意义。

The aim of this dissertation is to construct a phenomenology of death, a new type of metaphysics on the issue of death, based on analysis to current situation of thanatology domestic and overseas. To lay a solid foundation for realizing the theoretical construction, the author summarizes and explores the ontological basis of the phenomenology on the death issue, its methodology, and its basic theoretical system in a macro way. The phenomenology on the death issue is a branch of phenomenology, in which the essence and meaning of death are examined with the hermeneutic phenomenological method. It is different from those positive sciences of death related, such as medicine, psychology, sociology, etc. It is not a simple generalization and summation of the knowledge of nature and society which related to death issue, but a philosophical speculation on the essence of death which is hidden behind the positive knowledge of death, which is also a support to those positive sciences on the death issue. To fulfill the purpose mentioned above, the author carefully and thoroughly sorts out the pedigree of western humanics in different ages in ancient Greek, the medieval Europe, the modern and contemporary western countries. While confirming the role of western traditional humanics, its basic defections are exposed. A new definition of man is given from the perspective of phenomenological thanatology: the so-called man is a synthetic and historic Dasein, who constructs faith of existence on the basis of death consciousness and externalized it into the activity of cultural creation. Along with the establishment of the definition, all studies on man will be transferred to a new foundation.To unfold the theoretical structure, the author at first interprets emergence of the consciousness of death, the inner relations between consciousness of death and the state of the other entities in the world, the important meaning of time and space to the consciousness of death of human being, the basic connotation of metaphysics of death. Thus, a solid foundation for the phenomenology of death issue is laid. Secondly, the author explores deeply the emergence of faith of life based on the consciousness of death. On the one hand, the author gives a careful analysis on the connotation of faith of life and the original role of consciousness of death to the consciousness of life. On the other hand, he gives a explanatory note to the four important values in the complex pedigree of value from the perspective of phenomenology of death, that is the truth, the goodness, the beauty and the scared. The crisis of faith as a kind of spiritual conflict, the reasons for it, its concrete display, and the treatment of it are probed deeply also. Finally, it is pointed out that the contradiction between consciousness of death and faith of life is the inner force to push forward the activity of cultural creation. Culture is the display of human nature and the unique existence mode of human, the basic means to give man himself dignity, value and meaning so as to transcend death. Based on this recognition, while the author gives a synchronic analysis to interacted relationship between the idea of life-death and the variety of mode of culture, that is myth, religion, language, art, history, and science and technology, the important historical meaning of the idea of life-death in different ages, that is the age of pre-modern culture, the age of modern culture, and the age of post-modern culture, is also exposed.