Why do we fear death in modern times, and has this caused other problems for humanity? Anxieties about death may be at the root of our social ails.
Are you afraid of death? Many civilizations viewed it as an inseparable part of existence. Technology and medicine have lengthened our lives, but our world is also full of economic, social, and environmental turmoil. Why do we fear death in modern times, and has this caused other problems for humanity? As surprising as it may seem, anxieties about mortality may be at the root of our social ails.
Why We Avoid Thinking About Death
If you can’t wrap your mind around your own mortality, your brain may be to blame. Live Science mentions that our brains shield us from the idea of our own mortality. Researchers theorize that this may have evolved to ensure our survival. Greater awareness of our deaths could have made us more risk-aversive, discouraging us from engaging in activities like gathering food or finding mates.
Astonishing as this idea sounds, it’s not new. In his 1973 book “The Denial of Death,” psychologist Ernest Becker concluded that humans actively avoid thinking about their own mortality. On the Ernest Becker Foundation website, Glenn Hughes adds that mortality-related anxieties can prompt rigid identification and adherence to political, religious, or ideological beliefs. If these grow into intolerance and self-righteousness, it can lead to persecution, bigotry, and oppression.
There may be real-world evidence for Becker’s ideas. In the 2015 book “The Worm at the Core: On the Role of Death in Life,” authors Sheldon Solomon, Jeff Greenberg, and Tom Pyszczynski document their experiments based on Becker’s thesis. They concluded that “after people are reminded of their mortality they become much more hostile and vicious.” Speaking to journalist Carey Goldberg, Solomon added that excessive fear of death influences our judgment, limiting our compassion for others and even impacting how we vote.
Religion, Mortality, and the Afterlife
Did our ancestors’ fear of death create religion? According to New Humanist writer Lewis Wolpert, anthropologist Bronisław Malinowski proposed that religion may have helped quell human anxieties about mortality. People desire answers and certainty to cope with the unknown. Belief in an afterlife and the existence of the soul could offer comfort to the living. Rewards in the afterlife can make our struggles seem to be worth the tribulations that come with them. Maybe it isn’t so bad if we reside in Paradise after we pass away, so the logic goes.
Sheldon Solomon proposes that culture develops to provide meaning in life and combat the terror of mortality. Culture and religion are often intertwined. Religious beliefs can be expressed as empathy and inclusive attitudes towards others. Fundamentalism does the exact opposite: gatekeeping and shutting others out, reducing one’s worldview to “us against them.”
The Death Positive Movement
The Order of the Good Death is at the forefront of the Death Positive Movement. It seeks to remove social stigmas around death, suggesting that the “culture of silence” surrounding it can be broken through discussion, learning, innovation, and artistic expression. Its key goals also include empowering people to care for their dead and make their own end-of-life decisions.
Learning from other cultures can also help, especially since many non-Western cultures deal with death more openly. Ghanaians throw funeral parties and craft elaborate coffins. Cultural Colectiva’s Zoralis Pérez describes Ma’nene, an Indonesian ritual in which mummified corpses are exhumed, cleaned, dressed, and interacted with by their families. Traditional Irish wakes began when a deceased person’s female relatives washed and kept vigil near the body.
Death as Part of Life
One day, each of us will die. How we handle death is just as important as how we deal with life. Religion and philosophies may provide some comfort, but altering our cultural view of mortality is also essential. This change can help us develop better coping skills and possibly understand the roots of social problems plaguing us today.
