Value, Meaning, and the Fear of Death

“Security is an attempt
to try to make the universe static
so that we feel safe.”
— Anne Wilson Schaef

Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard observed that human beings need value and meaning in order to live. American cultural anthropologist Ernest Becker determined that our greatest fear is death and that we develop life strategies to avoid our demise.

These two observations are central to our relationship with power. Power can provide us with a metaphorical immortality, perpetuating the sense of self as well as value and meaning. Recognizing the role the quest for power plays in our lives, we can understand why someone would want to receive the Nobel Prize, become a powerful political leader, write a literary masterpiece, or have their name on a monument.

Three Forms of Power

As we work with the Violence Integrative Prevention and Restoration (PAR) Model, we learn that power takes three general forms:

1. Healthy — power which moves us toward life. Examples are honesty, accountability, forgiveness, wisdom, respect, compassion, and thankfulness.
2. Benign — power which can be used in either healthy or unhealthy ways. This would include commitment, perseverance, excellence, patience, loyalty, and courage. For example, one could be courageously loyal to a leader who advocates tolerance and understanding or to one advocating hatred and genocide.
3. Unhealthy — power which moves us away from life. Examples include dishonesty, wrath, ignorance, arrogance, greed, and hate.

Living the Heroic Life

Becker argues that we are driven to live heroic lives. The problem, he observes, is that heroic behavior produces the greatest evil in the world. Why? Because we are heroic for our viewpoint, our tribe, our “way of life,” and our way of denying death. That means differing viewpoints, tribes, ways of life, and immortality schemes are threats. The result — as we’ve seen with crusades, terrorism, racial differences, etc. — is violence.

But if we’re driven to live heroic lives, are we doomed? Becker seems to think not. He observes that heroism conducted on a universal or “cosmic” level is the only way we can find value and meaning which does not result in evil. Cosmic heroism is heroic behavior on behalf of all life. Examples of those who have taken this course are Martin Luther King, Mohandas Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Desmond Tutu, and the doctors and staff at Médecins Sans Frontières.

Cosmic heroism means accepting life as it is, living with mystery, and realizing that the universe is anything but static. As far as being human, I live with the knowledge that there’s no security whatsoever.

The Power of Choice

Living a heroic life on a universal level is not easy. It requires humility, wisdom, courage, patience, and perseverance. It’s challenging, but the rewards are great because the path of the cosmic hero produces depth, richness, and joy. In the end, it’s a choice — one made moment to moment. One thing that reassures me as I make my way though the experience of being in the world is the realization that — in those moments when I am fearful, petty, and small — I can turn back on the path of cosmic hero and find my way home.