Abstract ♦ Mortality, death and the fear thereof have been among the most important themes in systematic Western thought since its birth. Amongst the thinkers of the German Idealism, it was probably Hegel, whose philosophy attributed the greatest significance to them. It is one of the key assertions of the Phenomenology of Spirit that the historical process of the self-fulfilment of the absolute Spirit begins with the emergence of the dialectic relationship of the Master and Servant, determined fundamentally by death and the fear of death. The present study discusses this key relationship of subordination, and the role of death and the fear of death in the transition process from sense-consciousness to self-reflected self-consciousness. The study also discusses an aspect of Marx’s oft-cited approach regarding the master–servant relationship, and finally, building on Hegel’s framework, it outlines the possibility of the emergence of an alternative, co-equal relationship based on self-sacrifice.