We fear death, but what if dying isn't as bad as we think?

Research comparing perceptions of death with accounts of those imminently facing it suggest that maybe we shouldn ’t worry so much about our own end“The idea of death, the fear of it, haunts the human animal like nothing else,” wrote Earnest Becker in his book,The Denial of Death. It ’s a fear strong enough to compel us to force kale down our throats, run sweatilyon a treadmill at 7am on a Monday morning, and show our genitals to a stranger with cold hands and a white coat if we feel something’s a little off.But our impending end isn ’t just a benevolent supplier of healthy behaviours. Researchers have found death can determine ourprejudices, whether wegive to charity or wear sun cream, ourdesire to be famous, what type of leaderwe vote for, howwe name our children and even how we feel aboutbreastfeeding.Continue reading...

Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - July 25, 2017 Category: Science Authors: Jessica Brown Tags: Death and dying Science Psychology Life and style Source Type: news