Humans pursue symbolic immortality through works, namesakes, and progeny
Evidence
Our cultures also offer hope of symbolic immortality, the sense that we are part of something greater than ourselves that will continue long after we die. This is why we strive to be part of meaningful groups and have a lasting impact on the world—whether through our creative works of art or science, through the buildings and people named after us, through the possessions and genes we pass on to our children, or through the memories others hold of us. Just as we remember those we loved and admired who died before us, we feel the same will be done for us. We “live on” symbolically through our work, through the people we have known, through the memorials marking our graves, and through our progeny. — Sheldon Solomon, Jeff Greenberg, Tom Pyszczynski, The Worm at the Core, 63
Categorization
- XREF: connects to: Eternal rest sought by humans is self-coincidence, not endless duration; Appearances are immortal while meaning is mortal and dispensable — Jean Baudrillard, Simulacra and Simulation, 542; Paternity was socially invented to give men immortality through heirs — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 186 (+2 more)
Related
- Sartrean heroes long for irreversible acts that fix their identity forever (similarity 0.89)
- Eternal rest sought by humans is self-coincidence, not endless duration (similarity 0.85)
- Most humans have believed their existence continues literally beyond physical death (similarity 0.81)
- Mortals accept symbolic immortality when literal immortality is unattainable (similarity 0.80)
- Paternity was socially invented to give men immortality through heirs (similarity 0.79)
- The pursuit of immortality drove major scientific and technological advances (similarity 0.79)