(Part Five.)
We've finally gotten to where Becker begins: "Heroism is first and foremost a reflex of the terror of death."
Heroism is the essential component of the stories we invent. Becker quotes the psychologist William James on the subject:
We extend our thirst for life into that theatre, that symbolic arena where we seek a performance that scores a victory over meaninglessness, transience and death.
Of course we deflect this task in order to shield ourselves from its magnitude. For most of us a local heroism is sufficient, whether it's earning our family's daily bread or "piling up figures in a bank book."
For others, life exerts a greater pressure and demands a greater response.
Either way, the theatre is a fabrication, our construction. "This is what society is and always has been: a symbolic action system, a structure of statuses and roles, customs and rules for behavior, designed to serve as a vehicle for earthly heroism."
Next: Heroism of Denial
No comments:
Post a Comment