The role of death in life, 5

“People also gain a sense of symbolic immortality from feeling that they are part of a heroic cause or nation that will endure indefinitely….  Moreover, according to the great German sociologist Max Weber, charismatic leaders … often emerge during periods of historical upheaval.  In The Denial of Death, [cultural anthropologist Ernest] Becker provided a potent psychoanalytical account of why people find charismatic leaders so alluring in troubled times and, more important, why and how particular individuals are able to capitalize on this proclivity to rise to power and alter the course of history.

“…when people are plagued with economic woes and civil unrest to the point where the cultural scheme of things no longer seems to provide [a constancy that shelters them from the terror of mortality], they will look elsewhere to fulfill that need.

“Under such conditions, people’s allegiance may shift to an individual who exhibits an ‘unconflicted’ personality – in the sense of appearing supremely bold and self-confident – and offers a grand vision that affords a renewed prospect of being a valuable part of something noble and enduring.”

-- Sheldon Solomon et al. (2015).  The Worm at the Core: On the Role of Death in Life, pp. 116-7

The role of death in life, 4

“Religious faith does indeed serve to assuage concerns about death.  Strong faith in God is associated with emotional well-being and low death anxiety.  Additionally, after a reminder of their mortality, people report being more religious and having a stronger belief in God.” 

-- Sheldon Solomon et al. (2015).  The Worm at the Core: On the Role of Death in Life, pp. 87-8

The role of death in life, 3

“Once children understand that they, as well as their mothers and fathers, are perpetually vulnerable and ultimately finite, they shift from their parents to their culture as their primary source of psychological equanimity.  Deities and social authorities and institutions now appear to be more stable and enduring than our all-too-mortal and therefore all-too-vulnerable parents, grandparents, and pets.”

-- Sheldon Solomon et al. (2015).  The Worm at the Core: On the Role of Death in Life, p. 28

The role of death in life, 2

“We humans all manage the problem of knowing we are mortal by calling on two basic psychological resources.  First, we need to sustain faith in our cultural worldview, which imbues our sense of reality with order, meaning, and permanence…. Since we’re constantly on the brink of realizing that our existence is precarious, we cling to our culture’s governmental, educational, and religious institutions and rituals that buttress our view of human life as uniquely significant and eternal.

“The paths to literal and symbolic immortality laid out by our worldviews require us to feel that we are valuable members of our cultures.  Hence, the second vital resource for managing terror is a feeling of personal significance,  commonly known as self-esteem.”

-- Sheldon Solomon et al. (2015).  The Worm at the Core: On the Role of Death in Life, p. 9