Wren
BIRDS AREN'T REAL
- Jan 7, 2020
- 54
I am trying for the third time to get through the book. I'm one third in. Perhaps I'm too stupid to understand, or maybe his overly verbose and dry writing makes the progress so painfully slow. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but what I think Becker's saying is:
So, what I find interesting is that some people (like us gathered here) are fully aware of their mortality and are willing to take their own lives. Be it a rational outcome of thinking, a nihilist philosophy or a mental illness, this behaviour contradicts the prime directive of Life - to reproduce and secure the continuation of our lineage. We don't play by these rules, we are nature's deviations.
Contradicting life itself seems to me like the most courageous endeavour a man can undertake. I might be exaggerating, but isn't this the highest form of heroism and triumph?
As always, these things are subjective, but I'd be interested what you might have to say.
Fear, and namely fear of death, is the most fundamental human emotion. We all know subconsciously that we'll die one day and try our best not to think about it in our daily lives, preferring to think we are immortal for today. We are scared of dying and thus create distractions to occupy our minds. We take on projects - work, family, hobbies, research, anything we deem meaningful - and lose ourselves in them in hopes of achieving recognition and greatness that will outlast ourselves, making us figuratively immortal and thus denying death.
If one lacks this passion project, they are left without a purpose and feel they don't matter and are constantly aware of the inevitability of death.
So, what I find interesting is that some people (like us gathered here) are fully aware of their mortality and are willing to take their own lives. Be it a rational outcome of thinking, a nihilist philosophy or a mental illness, this behaviour contradicts the prime directive of Life - to reproduce and secure the continuation of our lineage. We don't play by these rules, we are nature's deviations.
Contradicting life itself seems to me like the most courageous endeavour a man can undertake. I might be exaggerating, but isn't this the highest form of heroism and triumph?
As always, these things are subjective, but I'd be interested what you might have to say.