ernest becker's "denial of death" & religion

       The title “Denial of Death” sounds edgy I know, but it’s more than just some angsty cynical concept made up by a depressed teen. To break it down, start by thinking about things humans do that go towards a goal. We’re talking going to school, buying the newest trending clothes, donating to charity, getting married, having children, and even going to war. What if all the things we hold so much meaning in are made to be a distraction? A distraction from the one thing we all know is going to inevitably occur: death.
         As humans, we have an unconscious fear surrounding death because it proves to us how finite and fragile our lives really are. Becker makes it clear that the world is terrifying-- animals in their natural state tear each other apart in cold blood for the one goal of surviving. As horrible as it is, it’s the reality of creatures on this earth—we simply eat, sleep, reproduce, and die. With human intelligence and desire, we decided that we were worth more than just that, we deserved a life of purpose and meaning. Everything that humanity has created is so we can avoid this brutish state of death and survival, whether that’s by creating a society built around laws, erecting infrastructure, or make a flowing supply chain so that we don’t have to worry about our needs (if you don’t know what a supply chain is please get off my blog). These mechanisms help us suppress the reality of death, but regardless of whatever distractions there are, deep down there’s a nagging anxiety that we will all come to an end. It’s not crazy baseless talk either, in fact there’s some evolutionary logic carried with it that makes me personally think this way as well. In primitive times, those who were cautious of death were more realistic with their situation which then consequently passes down a hyper anxious gene to their future generations.
        ANYWAYYYYYYYY circling back to my main point, (please excuse my tangents, but in my defense they were prefaced) I quote from Becker “…man is a worm and food for worms. This is the paradox; he is out of nature and hopelessly in it.” Our existence is a direct contradiction to itself. We are so complex because while we yearn to progress and realize our full potential, we know we’ll eventually meet our demise. To deal with this, we form a coping character that acts as a protective fortress from fear. Society is an extension from this thread of fear. Religion, politics, and racial divisions are all systems created from the inability to accept the fact that in the end we are helpless—that our “purpose in life” appears to be just a cruel joke where we pour everything into a lifetime just for nothing to be left. These systems provide us with a sort of symbolism that will live on even after our personal biological limits are reached. Religion promises an afterlife to help manage humanity’s death anxiety, or in other words DENY death, where if they just pray or do a little this or that they can live past death. The same goes for the creation of big institutions (of any kind) and even reproducing— after death a “legacy” or “history” will be left behind as proof that one “counts” in the face of the void.
         Life has always been “a symbolic action system, a structure of statuses and roles, customs and rules for behavior, designed to serve as a vehicle for earthly heroism”. Each culture has a different script for their own “heroes”, the Bible for Christianity, the Quran for Islam, Torah for Judaism, so on so forth, which all have different values and beliefs of their hero (in religious context, God). Here’s the inevitable problem we run into though: not everyone’s idea of a hero is true. Either you’re right, or I’m wrong. But, to deny my idea of what will transcend me into immortality is evil! In other words, if I’m wrong, that will make me destined to become the worm food Becker’s talking about! The existence of other religious systems puts another’s in danger.
          In an oversimplified nutshell, he basically says we wish to be immortal, realize we can’t be, and so create a delusion for us to transcend and live on after we meet our physical demise. Though this leads us question: how should we live then? Well, if you felt attacked by my personal insight and are now kind of having an existential crisis, don’t worry. Yes, I did base this post off Becker’s understanding of the world, where his solution is to go through a phase of madness and completely restart, (he’s not the most fun guy) but realistically no one’s doing that. The point of my take wasn’t to destroy your perception of life, but instead help you create a better one based on a clear foundation. Despite our weakness, our existence has meaning in some ultimate sense BECAUSE we exist. That’s all that there is to it—humans have existed in the past, continue to exist, you’re a part of it, therefore we have meaning and purpose. There is no need to prove you matter because you already DO. Your emotions, potential, desire and characteristics specific to you all contribute to this crazy huge universe. Knowing this, I believe it is up to every individual themselves to figure out what they want to do in this crazy huge universe. Not for a higher being, not for any ulterior impossible motive, but for this lifetime. So stop denying your death (haha...;;;;) and live for the present!