Survival itself is nonsensical and demands readiness for death

Evidence

It seems to me that the question is not whether a community lives or dies; the question is on what plane does it live. There are different modes of survival. But not all are equally honourable. For an individual as well as for a society, there is a gulf between merely living, and living worthily. … What he must consider is, what is the quality of their survival. If he does that, I am sure he will cease to take pride in the mere fact of survival. A Hindu’s life has been a life of continuous defeat, and what appears to him to be life everlasting is not living everlastingly, but is really a life which is perishing everlastingly. — Ambedkar, B R, Annihilation of Caste_ The Annotated…, 942 (#complicates, via linked claim)

A change of perspective, an attempt to put oneself in the other person’s shoes, can in some cases show that an irrational belief may actually be just harmless entertainment, a comforting notion, or even a stabilizing force for a person’s survival. Attacking someone’s belief in a reunion with a loved one in the afterlife merely on principle does not make one friends, and in most cases it benefits no one. This self-reflection, which always requires a little distance, may be difficult for us, especially in the case of people who are particularly close to us. — Holm Gero Hümmler, Ulrike Schiesser, Fact and Prejudice, 822 (#qualifies, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Mere survival does not prove fitness to survive. — Ambedkar, B R, Annihilation of Caste_ The Annotated…, 942; Authentic existence requires accepting that we will die — Sarah Bakewell, At the Existentialist Café: Freedom,…, 292; Some irrational beliefs serve as stabilizing forces for survival. — Holm Gero Hümmler, Ulrike Schiesser, Fact and Prejudice: How to Communicate…, 822 (+3 more)

Broader Connections

• The survivor is defined by the future, not by fear or death. #corroborates (0.85)
• Mere survival does not prove fitness to survive. #complicates (0.80) — Ambedkar, B R, Annihilation of Caste_ The Annotated…, 942
• Some irrational beliefs serve as stabilizing forces for survival. #qualifies (0.75) — Holm Gero Hümmler, Ulrike Schiesser, Fact and Prejudice, 822
• Authentic existence requires accepting that we will die #expands (0.72) — Sarah Bakewell, At the Existentialist Café, 292
• People seize on spurious longevity facts to feel death can be kept at bay #exemplifies (0.72) — Sheldon Solomon, Jeff Greenberg, Tom Pyszczynski, The Worm at the Core, 636
• People are generally oblivious to death yet it shapes their experience #expands (0.70) — Sheldon Solomon, Jeff Greenberg, Tom Pyszczynski, The Worm at the Core, 613