Self-esteem is a core survival need, not a luxury.
Evidence
The seemingly trite words “self-esteem” are at the very core of human adaptation. They do not represent an extra self-indulgence, or a mere vanity, but a matter of life and death. The qualitative feeling of self-value is the basic predicate for human action…. Unlike the baboon who gluts himself only on food, man nourishes himself mostly on self-esteem. — Sheldon Solomon, Jeff Greenberg, Tom Pyszczynski, The Worm at the Core, 188
Categorization
- XREF: Connects to later experimental work in this chapter showing self-esteem boosters neutralize death anxiety. — connects to: Material conditions enable but never cause self-affirmation, which requires prior desire. — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 146
Related
- Self-esteem is as vital as food for human psychological survival (similarity 0.87)
- Self-esteem is embodied, not just mental, and blunts death-anxiety (similarity 0.85)
- Self-esteem functions as protection against the terror of death (similarity 0.82)
- Self-esteem acts as a physiological vaccine against fear and adversity (similarity 0.81)
- Meaning alone is insufficient; self-worth within the worldview is required for security (similarity 0.79)