Terror Management Theory

“The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time” Mark Twain once said, in the same fashion as him, Michele De Montaigne believed philosophizing is an unnatural way of coping with death since nature will take care of it. Experiences throughout life can mold one’s mind into its own beliefs and Montaigne was no different in this aspect, even today philosophers and psychologist’s hypothesis on theories such as “Terror Management” and how its implemented with death. “To philosophize is to learn how to die” is Montaigne’s title to one of his essays, which dives into great detail about his ideology on death and the various impacts that it can cause on life. Death should be frequently on the mind and to ease ones fears as Montaigne

Noticing that Montaigne is not frightened, the thieves released him acknowledging his natural, honest appearance. In correlation with Montaigne’s mindset on how to cope with death, three scientist’s developed a hypothesis named “The Terror Management Theory” that they have been exploring for the last 20 years. As a result of intensive research, death is a major motivation for individuals to stand out and give their lives significant meaning, under those circumstances cultural values subside to the terror of death, “So the fear of death, he argued, impels us to try to feel that we’re significant beings in a meaningful world” (Parry). In contrast to Montaigne stating people must embrace death to live a serene life, “The Terror Management Theory” is a deliberate distraction to the inevitable feeling of death. It’s important to recognize that death will occur and to embrace one’s life through out