“Modern man is drinking and drugging himself out of awareness, or he spends his time shopping, which is the same thing.” —Ernest Becker
The philosopher, Ernest Becker (1924-1974) is best known for two works: The Denial of Death and Escape from Evil.
Through these books, Becker weaves together a philosophy of humanity that argues most of a person’s actions are based on his or her fear of death. He writes, “Of all things that move man, one of the principal ones is his terror of death.”
But for Becker, it is not just the fear of physical death that moves people. In Escape from Evil, he contends that humanity’s greatest fear is to die without significance.
What man really fears is not so much extinction, but extinction with insignificance. Man wants to know that his life has somehow counted, if not for himself, then at least in a larger scheme of things, that it has left a trace, a trace that has meaning. And in order for anything once alive to have meaning, its effects must remain alive in eternity in some way.
To compensate, we begin to engage in the pursuit of immortality projects—any activity that will allow us to outlive our physical lives. By securing for ourselves immortality symbols, we are able to successfully defeat death, outlive our mortality, and overcome our terror of death.
These symbols could take many forms (writing, art, architecture). But Becker writes that most modern people in capitalist societies turn to wealth and possessions as their immortality projects. “Money gives power now—and, through accumulated property, land and interest, power in the future.” He contends that the pursuit of wealth and possessions is so common, “no wonder economic equality is beyond the imagination of modern, democratic man: the house, the car, the bank balance are his immortality symbols.”
I was first introduced to Becker’s philosophy years ago. And it has helped shape my understanding of why minimalism is a foreign idea to so many people. For those who pursue immortality through wealth and possessions, minimalism stands in sharp contrast to some of the very forces that make them human—even against the primal motivation of self-preservation.
But Becker’s contribution also gets me thinking, “Where then, do we find the motivation to own less? How do we live a life that is not motivated by the accumulation of more and more possessions? Is it even possible to live a life apart from the accumulation of money and possessions as our immortality symbols?”
Yes, of course it is possible. The key, it seems, is to discover and pursue new immortality projects—to make a conscience decision to not allow the appeal of the visible to crowd out its invisible competitors.
As a result, we choose to live a life of significance by embracing integrity, trustworthiness, honesty, and responsibility. We choose to touch the lives of others in meaningful ways by meeting their physical, emotional, and spiritual needs. We seek to elevate others rather than ourselves. We invest in justice and equality. Through work, we contribute to society rather than only ourselves. And above all else, we choose to champion and excel in love.
By seeking these invisible immortality symbols, we address our need for significance and we satisfy our desire for immortality. We impact the lives of others and outlive our physical lives. And removing the pursuit of physical possessions from our affections provides even more opportunity to secure true immortality symbols.
Apple says
I am an average woman, and as such, even if I aim to be a simple, honest, helpful person with “immortal spirituality”, if I am lucky, maybe the next two or three generations of my family will remember me. Therefore I tend to not look into “immortality”, but focusing on my contentment and the happiness of my family and the people around me.
Lara says
Interesting. I never thought about the pursuit of wealth and things as a means to showing that we were here–that we mattered. I went back to teaching 3rd grade a year ago and I think a lot of my decision came from wanting to leave a legacy..to inspire and to have significance in my life. Funny thing, my simplifying journey (in earnest) started at the same time. Once I found what mattered, the material things were so easy to let go of.
jill britz says
immortality projects. yes! i’ve not heard of this concept. perfect, because OF COURSE we want to stand out & make a difference.
& peaceful, yes. your writing is ever so peaceful. perfect on a weekend morning.
thank you!
Rodrigo Pereira says
Why not learn to accept extinction with insignificance?
Phill says
Nice thoughts. Reminds me of an observation by Professor Mark Muesse of Rhodes College who writes about the practice of mindfulness meditation. “The acceptance of loss actually helps us relax and be less anxious. The majority of our actions suggest that we believe that acquiring and holding on to the people and things that give us pleasure will put our lives at ease. However it is only by relinquishing our attachment to everything we think will make us happy that we can actually be happy. Mindfulness allows us to see this truth and empowers us to act on it.”
Mary Ann says
Wonderful post as always. We all do struggle with the same self centered issues in a way that wants to tell the world, ” Hey, I’m here and my life here matters.” We all want our existence recognized, hopefully, in a positive way. So we leave our legacy in the best way our own soul knows how to express.
Peter says
Great Post thanks Joshua,
My life for 40 years was based on having more and better things than others i.e. living in the future. I then fell into alcoholism and drug use and spent 6 years living in the past full of guilt, remorse and anger. Now I’m living for today, having lost everything I can honestly say I’m now enjoying life more than ever and a big part of that is being honest, humble and giving back to others.
Christina says
Thanks for this great post, Joshua. I really like the distinction of immortality projects focused on contribution to bring significance to our lives. Although I do think it is necessary to also change our mindset and how we are being in the world when we pursue significance instead of pursuing money. What would be different if we pursue immortality projects as ruthlessly as we do money?
Linda Sand says
As a retired woman looking back on my life it is easy to see that the things I did were more important than the things I owned. I am so pleased to see the younger generations realizing this earlier than I did.
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