Human denial of death

Avoidance of confrontation with death

Nature

The fact of death is avoided by present day society, so that people fill their lives with busy activities, seeking money, fun, friends, fame, happiness and seldom reflect upon on the certainty that such life will end. They refuse to recognize reality. As older people are separated from previous roles, deserted by family, and see their bodies age, they are forced to reflect on the fact of their own impending death. The sudden realization of what they have previously ignored causes sudden fear which may be paralyzing to the point of impotency among the older generation.

Claim

Environmental degradation is a direct consequence of human denial of death. This manifests itself in unconscious, yet culturally acceptable, magical ideation that, in turn, results in environmental ills, as well as personal, societal and planetary ills. The magical ideation is a complex process of unconscious self-delusion that integrates superficial religious and philosophical concepts with primitive biological imperatives. The result is to cloak the minds and hearts of individuals from their most rudimentary fear, that of contemplating personal extinction.