Becker's vital lie starts off with the notion of heroism. Heroism, in this sense, is the drive to have the world aware of our existence. It is universal and inherent in all of us. The two concepts of heroism are narcissism, which is natural self-interest, and self-expansion, which is the desire to sustain our existence. Becker points out that our attempts at getting others to know that we exist stems from our fear of death. We are not aware of it, but that fear is present behind all our normal functions. Becker believes that the fear of death is innate and plays a central role in our character development. It is the driving force behind our actions, belief, thinking, and everything we do as humans. The fear of death also ties into what Becker calls the existential dilemma. To exist as humans is to be caught in this existential dilemma, the notion that humans are wholly organic and wholly symbolic. The organic body is limited to death and determination and is finite. The......
Join Now or Login to view the rest of this paper.
Approximate Word Count: 1386
Approximate Pages: 6 (260 words per double-spaced page) |