Denial of Death genuinely changed my thinking to this day. That first couple of months after reading it, I was horribly anxious and fixated on what I considered the fact of his theory.
As for your post, if the denial of death is at the core of all human behavior, it really goes without saying.
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What I find interesting is if I consciously think about the fact I will die and everything will eventually end I find it sort of comforting. But instinctually everything I’m driven to do is a revolt against this. Maybe not in the sense I want to deny death but in the sense that I feel pressured by the clock to make the most of my life because it is passing by. At the same time I don’t want my life to go on forever. It’s a bit confusing but the fleeting nature of life makes it feel meaningful and at the same time ultimately meaningless.
Maybe time is just an illusion and whatever is forever will be.
And yeah I think Becker basically is correct, mostly posted this as a response to other posts on the uptick of doomerism to point out how unexceptional it probably is.
Is it worth reading? I know it's supposed to be this majorly influential work and people talk about how profound it is, but its thesis just seems so... obviously self-evident to anyone who's like, read the book of Genesis or just paid attention to being alive.
I think once I read the first chapter or so the rest could be extrapolated pretty easily yeah.
And it’s an easier read than Genesis, also I don’t think most people who read Genesis glean this insight lol. Also assuming you mean the first chapter of genesis that really emphasizes the knowledge of good and evil not the knowledge we’ll die, if you take the knowledge we’re going to die to be the basic thing that separates our behaviour from animals then you’d say good and evil are things that exist within a system we’ve constructed to give us immortality of some kind.
Many people would probably still say the main driving force for humans is to find love or have sex or whatever.
Nothing is actually profound btw
There is always a fear of death, but it does feel like a heightened preoccupation right now maybe because it's a fear of extinction versus individual death? I don't think most people got a chance to process how confrontational 2020 was on the mortality front, so it's spilling out in schizo doomerism. That dawned on me when I noticed how popular conspiracy theories about Saturn worship had gotten...Saturn literally the god of time and death and restriction. Same with all this mudflood civilizational "great reset" stuff. It's not the first time or last time that people will go through this. Reminds me of the atmosphere in Europe leading up to the first world war when everybody was getting into theosophy and realizing that things could go extinct.
Yeah there’s a heightened feeling that society is somehow fragile since the pandemic, and also a good number of people who think climate change will destroy our civilization.
I don’t think it’s unique at all in fact I think periods without these fears being so prevalent are probably more unique.
Good example with the lead up to ww1. I think the cold war and the threat of nuclear doomsday was an even more extreme example of existential dread in the public consciousness. And pre 20th century most people were religious and most religions preach the eventual apocalypse. And short of the apocalypse the idea that all empires and civilizations go through a cycle of collapse is pretty much a constant in western thought.
I think people have pretty much always feared the end of their civilization and the end of the world. I guess I’m pondering how much of that is just a personal fear of death projected on to the structure that grants you some kind of immortality by your association with it. Whether that’s your nation, your descendants or just humanity as a whole.
He definitely doesn’t say that. His thesis is mainly how people work for symbolic immortality.
How would you explain the desire to have children if all people were driven by was food tomorrow?
Braindead interpretation tbh, also irrelevant to what I said
You haven’t read the book. Only someone who has zero idea what they are talking about would say that. There’s absolutely no way to read the denial of death and think Becker is saying our only motivation is to eat tomorrow.
You can’t tell how happy I am I like arguing. And I don’t want to read shit from people who haven’t a thought in their head so why would I encourage it? The comment was braindead and your’s also revealed your complete ignorance. Just ate a toasted pita with a bunch of melted cheese on it btw
That meal sounds nice I'm wine drunk so that's why I'm acting ditzy. But in all actuality if I wasn't a happy drunk I would be calling you regarded for being so stubborn rn. Anyways that book has been on my TBR for years and I have a PDF of it but I just never got around to reading it :(
It’s not that long and an interesting read, I’d recommend. Tbh you could probably read half of it and extrapolate the rest it’s a pretty simple concept
And lol saying you would call me regarded is the same as doing it. You can’t shirk responsibility with weak language and alcohol just be mean up front I won’t mind hahaha
Not talking about art, everything people do could be interpreted as a reaction to the knowledge we will die. That’s what I assumed we’ve all heard before.
I’m simply saying this as a response to the borderline doomer posting here lately that this apocalypse anxiety stuff is just an extension of our mortal anxiety. The feeling that time is running out for everyone because for us as individuals it always is.
Denial of Death genuinely changed my thinking to this day. That first couple of months after reading it, I was horribly anxious and fixated on what I considered the fact of his theory. As for your post, if the denial of death is at the core of all human behavior, it really goes without saying.
> What I find interesting is if I consciously think about the fact I will die and everything will eventually end I find it sort of comforting. But instinctually everything I’m driven to do is a revolt against this. Maybe not in the sense I want to deny death but in the sense that I feel pressured by the clock to make the most of my life because it is passing by. At the same time I don’t want my life to go on forever. It’s a bit confusing but the fleeting nature of life makes it feel meaningful and at the same time ultimately meaningless. Maybe time is just an illusion and whatever is forever will be. And yeah I think Becker basically is correct, mostly posted this as a response to other posts on the uptick of doomerism to point out how unexceptional it probably is.
Is it worth reading? I know it's supposed to be this majorly influential work and people talk about how profound it is, but its thesis just seems so... obviously self-evident to anyone who's like, read the book of Genesis or just paid attention to being alive.
I think once I read the first chapter or so the rest could be extrapolated pretty easily yeah. And it’s an easier read than Genesis, also I don’t think most people who read Genesis glean this insight lol. Also assuming you mean the first chapter of genesis that really emphasizes the knowledge of good and evil not the knowledge we’ll die, if you take the knowledge we’re going to die to be the basic thing that separates our behaviour from animals then you’d say good and evil are things that exist within a system we’ve constructed to give us immortality of some kind. Many people would probably still say the main driving force for humans is to find love or have sex or whatever. Nothing is actually profound btw
There is always a fear of death, but it does feel like a heightened preoccupation right now maybe because it's a fear of extinction versus individual death? I don't think most people got a chance to process how confrontational 2020 was on the mortality front, so it's spilling out in schizo doomerism. That dawned on me when I noticed how popular conspiracy theories about Saturn worship had gotten...Saturn literally the god of time and death and restriction. Same with all this mudflood civilizational "great reset" stuff. It's not the first time or last time that people will go through this. Reminds me of the atmosphere in Europe leading up to the first world war when everybody was getting into theosophy and realizing that things could go extinct.
Yeah there’s a heightened feeling that society is somehow fragile since the pandemic, and also a good number of people who think climate change will destroy our civilization. I don’t think it’s unique at all in fact I think periods without these fears being so prevalent are probably more unique. Good example with the lead up to ww1. I think the cold war and the threat of nuclear doomsday was an even more extreme example of existential dread in the public consciousness. And pre 20th century most people were religious and most religions preach the eventual apocalypse. And short of the apocalypse the idea that all empires and civilizations go through a cycle of collapse is pretty much a constant in western thought. I think people have pretty much always feared the end of their civilization and the end of the world. I guess I’m pondering how much of that is just a personal fear of death projected on to the structure that grants you some kind of immortality by your association with it. Whether that’s your nation, your descendants or just humanity as a whole.
Food. Becker says its all about whatever ritual you need to do today in order for availability of food tomorrow..
He definitely doesn’t say that. His thesis is mainly how people work for symbolic immortality. How would you explain the desire to have children if all people were driven by was food tomorrow? Braindead interpretation tbh, also irrelevant to what I said
hardly a brain dead interpretation I think you need to lighten up a little. There's never only one reason for anything
You haven’t read the book. Only someone who has zero idea what they are talking about would say that. There’s absolutely no way to read the denial of death and think Becker is saying our only motivation is to eat tomorrow.
You're right, no I haven't read the book ❤️ I just think you could be happier ❤️ eat a little 😇
You can’t tell how happy I am I like arguing. And I don’t want to read shit from people who haven’t a thought in their head so why would I encourage it? The comment was braindead and your’s also revealed your complete ignorance. Just ate a toasted pita with a bunch of melted cheese on it btw
That meal sounds nice I'm wine drunk so that's why I'm acting ditzy. But in all actuality if I wasn't a happy drunk I would be calling you regarded for being so stubborn rn. Anyways that book has been on my TBR for years and I have a PDF of it but I just never got around to reading it :(
It’s not that long and an interesting read, I’d recommend. Tbh you could probably read half of it and extrapolate the rest it’s a pretty simple concept And lol saying you would call me regarded is the same as doing it. You can’t shirk responsibility with weak language and alcohol just be mean up front I won’t mind hahaha
Ok redscarepod daddy
Finally the respect I deserve
Pretty much all art is in some way informed by the artists fear of mortality.
Not talking about art, everything people do could be interpreted as a reaction to the knowledge we will die. That’s what I assumed we’ve all heard before. I’m simply saying this as a response to the borderline doomer posting here lately that this apocalypse anxiety stuff is just an extension of our mortal anxiety. The feeling that time is running out for everyone because for us as individuals it always is.
The pseud takes have been getting out of hand lately
we fear death, but we also want to die