Memento Mori: The Terror Management Theory

Memento Mori - this classic proverb holds a far more complex role in psychology today than in literature. Dubbed the “Terror Management” theory, a recent study hypothesized that our unique ability to cognitively perceive Death as the inescapable end forces us to shape meaning into the world by creating our own cultural systems and integrating our identity with them. Any threat to this pursuit for meaning, therefore is thought to evoke blinded aggression, fueled by our own defensive mechanisms.

This theory argues that although we’re cognitive beings, our pursuit to forget Death is funnily enough our only motive to survive.