Self-esteem is as vital as food for human psychological survival
Evidence
As self-conscious animals aware of the inevitability of death, we humans “do not live by bread alone.” Self-esteem, like the sturdy, graceful columns of the Parthenon in ancient Greece, is the foundation of fortitude. The psychological nourishment we get from self-esteem is no less vital than the physical nourishment we get from our daily bread. — Sheldon Solomon, Jeff Greenberg, Tom Pyszczynski, The Worm at the Core, 268
Categorization
- XREF: Directly parallels the social-capital argument that obligations serve as credit - here self-esteem serves as emotional currency against mortality threat.
Related
- Self-esteem is a core survival need, not a luxury. (similarity 0.87)
- Self-esteem is embodied, not just mental, and blunts death-anxiety (similarity 0.83)
- Self-esteem acts as a physiological vaccine against fear and adversity (similarity 0.80)
- Self-esteem functions as protection against the terror of death (similarity 0.79)