Denial of Death

To err is to be human. But to be human is also to have at least a modicum of narcissism. Where the idea of narcissism here comes from is human’s desire to stand out and be the one in creation. Hero centrism. “If we care about anyone, it is usually ourselves first of all”.

and finally, “when we appreciate how natural it is to strive to be a hero, how deeply it goes in his evolutionary and organismic constitution, how openly he shows it as a child, then it is all the more curious how ignorant most of us are, consciously, of what we really want and need.” What a strong introduction. Felt like my assumptions of humankind are wrong and a rug has been pulled. Now my eyes are open and Becker lends his lens to view this subject of the very core and truth being human.

“And the crisis of society is, of course, the crisis of organized religion too: religion is no longer valid as a hero system, and so the youth scorn it”. Ok. Pending thoughts.

We can look at: “heroism is first and foremost a reflex of the terror of death”. As we march towards the inevitability of death, is what we achieve what we do leave behind and therefore what we want to be remembered by?