Psychological theory positing that much of what we do and how we behave is ultimately driven by an unconscious fear of our inevitable future death — that most of society’s existential angst can be explained by this gnawing sense of uncertainty and a motivation to avoid having to think about this unpleasant truth.

Relation to:

• Ernest Becker — The Denial of Death
• the death wish
• self-destructiveness
• thrill seeking
• “moth to a flame”
• attraction to danger
• drug addiction and the addiction cycle more generally
• death cults
• End Times
• preppers and survivalists
• paranoia
• Eternal Rome