Terror management is a branch of psychology & sociology: fear of death as the primary subconscious motivation.1 We want some meaning that continues after death of the body. We identify with groups who share our beliefs; the bigger the group the stronger its ability to tamp down fear of death. Cultural beliefs (tribes, races, nationalities, religions) are designed to transcend death; we build personal identities on them. Research shows these beliefs are triggered by thoughts, ideas, or events related to death; often we are not consciously aware of this. One part of almost all cultures is some form of the sacred: ideas & feelings that seem certain, overcoming doubt. Beliefs in the power of technology (sci-tech-mat) are the new terror management:2 biological immortality, young-blood therapy, uploading “consciousness” to “the cloud.” Gotama warns against using common terror management ideas, such as metaphysical beliefs, rigid views, & other mental constructions, along with belief in a permanent self, because this leads to clinging to them, which leads to suffering.
anatta • anicca • dukkha • evolution • impermanence • not self
- See Ernest Becker, Denial of Death, & Escape from Evil, for the origins of this line of psychological & sociological thinking. For the role of meaning & self-esteem, see his earlier The Birth & Death of Meaning. For a contemporary, popular summary, see The Worm at the Core: On the Role of Death in Life by Solomon, Greenberg, & Pyszczynski. ↩
- See John Gray, Straw Dogs, for an eloquent statement of these ideas. ↩