Rachel Menzies - Mortals: How the fear of death shaped human society

The time is at hand when you will have forgotten everything and the time is at hand when all will have forgotten you. Always reflect that soon you will be no one, and nowhere.

Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, (121180 AD)

Time is running out for our species and for each one of us. Our faith in Jesus, Ra or Zeus will not save us. Our belief in the soul, essence or spirit will not preserve us. Our insistence that we are more significant than the other animals will not protect us. In truth, as you have seen, it will make us more vulnerable. It is time for you to face the facts. You are a mortal ape and, soon enough, you will be dead. You will not be remembered.

It is the denial of these facts that has been the focus of Mortals. We have demonstrated that the fear of death, buried deep in the human psyche, motivates most of the daily choices that humans make. You now know more about why you want that extra child, why you go to church, chapel or synagogue, or why you love your family name. You have come to a deeper understanding of your support for your state or nation, and the causes of racism and xenophobia. You even have a subtler appreciation of the unconscious attractions of zombie films, vitamin supplements, ghost stories and Harry Potter. But what will you do with all this information? We hope the insights that youve gained can help you build a life that is authentically yours, not one that is controlled by the spectre of death. It is time to forget the expectations of your culture, for these were simply created to deal with your dread. What do you really want to do? If you strip away your existential pain, who are you really?

Right now you have your five senses and a body that can move them anywhere you wish. You can dive into oceans, climb mountains and let your eyes gaze on the beauty of nature. You can smell and taste flavours from all over the globe, love and embrace others, and listen to melodies from Beethoven to Beyonc. Dont waste your life living in fear of the fact that it ends. Accept your mortality, enjoy each moment that you have and learn to embrace the reaper. He isnt grim, but comes to give you rest and make room for another. Everyone has their time in the sun.

We stand on the shoulders of giants, deeply indebted to the anthropologists, psychologists, archaeologists, philosophers and social scientists who have slowly opened the door on death and its role in shaping human behaviour. In particular, we acknowledge the groundbreaking work of Professors Ernest Becker, Jeff Greenberg, Sheldon Solomon and Tom Pyszczynski. We have had the pleasure of collaborating with Jeff and Tom on other projects, and their ideas have infused many chapters in this book. Similarly, we owe debts to Professor Mario Mikulincer whose work on attachment has strongly influenced , and to Professor Robert (Bob) Neimeyer, who remains a dear friend and our go-to person on all matters to do with the human response to grief and loss.

Closer to home, we are profoundly grateful to Associate Professor Ilan Dar-Nimrod and Professor Louise Sharpe from the University of Sydney, for their invaluable input over many years. It is impossible to overstate the influence they have had on our own thinking, and it is thanks to their support and guidance that much of our own research on this topic has been conducted.

Outside academia, we would like to thank our literary agent, Gaby Naher, and the wonderful team at Allen & Unwin, led by Tom Gilliatt. Gaby and Tom have shown tremendous faith in the project from the moment of its conception. Their enthusiasm and insightful feedback throughout the writing process undoubtedly helped to sharpen the final manuscript.

Lastly, our greatest thanks must go to our family and friends. In particular, we are deeply indebted to our partners (Lachlan and Margot), our parents, (Jenny-Maree, Helen and Colin), and our children (Henry, Matilda, and Jude). Giving birth to a book of this breadth and scope takes time, and both authors have been lost to family at various points in the project. We thank you all for your endless encouragement, your willingness to discuss death over the dinner table, and your patience and love.

9/11 attacks 734, 79

abortion 456

Catholic Church and 46

academia 13

acceptance 303

Death Attitudes ProfileRevised (DAP-R) 33640

escape acceptance 3389

neutral acceptance 33940

positive spiritual beliefs and 337

terminally ill 336

achievements 12, 1318, 201, 31, 64, 103, 311, 333

adolescence

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) survey 2867

experience of death 10

fear of death 9

grief, experience of 10

hopelessness and suicidal thoughts in 2867

ageing, diminishing fear of death 11, 167, 339

Aghori people, India 207

agoraphobia 258

Ainsworth, Mary 128, 129, 130, 147

Allen, Woody 151

Allende, Isabelle 15, 16

altars for dead relatives 2358

butsudan Japan 2358

Da de los Muertos, Mexico 235, 241

American Civil War 215

Angelou, Mary 88

Annals of Internal Medicine 160

anxiety

desire and lack of control 327

anxiety disorders 25860

adaptive coping strategies 276

coping strategies 2758

impact of fears of death 2635, 2668, 275

maladaptive coping strategies 276

Archibald Prize entrants, gender 15

architecture as legacy 97101, 121

Eiffel Tower 99101

Hitlers Germania 1013

Lincoln Cathedral 99

Pyramid of Khufu 979

Arlington National Cemetery 83, 84

Arndt, Jamie 193

art as legacy 8897, 121

cave paintings 889

footprints and handprints 901

frescoes 917

sculpture 91, 121

artificial intelligence 17980

chatbot recreating the deceased 2458

Atkins, Dr Robert

Dr Atkins Diet Revolution 164

Dr Atkins New Diet Revolution 164

attachment

anxiety measures of fear of death 132

attachment theory 12831

Pompeii victims 1256

relationships and death reminders 1327

attachment theory 12831

anxious-ambivalent attachment style 12930

anxious-avoidant attachment style 130, 131

fear of death anxiety measures 132

secure attachment style 129

Augustus, mausoleum of 223

Australian Centre for Health Research 312

Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) 316

awareness of death 2

child understanding of death 79

emergence 79

Aztec human sacrifices 534

Baird, Mike 85

Baldwin, James

The Fire Next Time 62

Barnsley, Carmen 309

the Beatles 123

Becker, Ernest 20, 63, 64, 187, 3689

The Birth and Death of Meaning 186

The Denial of Death 12, 63, 182

virtual immortality 16

Beirut bombing 2015 86

Ben-Ari, Orit Taubman 194

Bennett, Kate 239

Berger, Theodore 172

Bethune, Brian 337

Bhagvad Gita 33

Bhimbetka, India rock carvings 889

bin Laden, Osama 79

blood transfusions 46

Bolivia, Da de las atitas 23941

Bowlby, John 128, 130, 147

Bozo, zlem 165

brain, human

architecture of 1734, 1769

artificial intelligence compared 17980

disorders, treating 176

energy requirements 3

expansion in size of 3

hippocampal prosthesis 172, 174

hippocampus, role 172

neurogenesis 1767

size 3

whole brain emulation 17280

brain, other mammals 3

Brunei 58

Buddhism 368

Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum 38

monks self-mummification 20912

Shingon school 37, 211

Bukowski, Charles 13, 17