In the previous post, I explained how one of the great personal advantages of Thanatism is how it provides a solid core upon which to build the rest of our thinking. What makes Thanatism such a great core though? Is it uniquely so, or is it just one of many core beliefs we could have with similar effects? Although this is a work of faith and not epistemology, I think it’s important to discuss these things that make Thanatism uniquely well suited as the core of our thinking.
First, and as discussed earlier, Thanatism makes a fantastic core belief because of its statistical certainty. Very few phenomena have been observed as carefully and for as long as that of death. Throughout and even before history, humans have actively worked to evade death’s grasp, and yet no one has managed to do so.
Though this statistical certainty helps, many statistics have been used to tell untrue stories. The fact is, however, that although we as humans often make honest mistakes, more often than not, we defend untruths, not out of a lack of carefulness or precision, but rather through some moral failing. The most common of these “moral mistakes” is simply that we don’t want to admit we’re wrong.
There is perhaps nothing too meaningless that, having been spoken, we won’t defend until our dying breath. We’ve all felt this. We say something. Someone else challenges what we said. What follows is a tightness in our chests, a shortness of breath, and a firm resolve to defend our statement–with almost no consideration given as to whether or not it’s valid.
Thanatism defends against this moral failing, not because Thanatists are naturally virtuous, but rather because the truth at the core of Thanatism is one of the few truths that eviscerates our ego even more than being wrong. Although admitting that we’re wrong hurts our ego, knowing that we are but a temporal phenomena that shall soon pass without so much as making a ripple in the universe, or this planet, or even really in the lives of our loved ones for any length of time, hurts way more.
This brings us to a related moral mistake–that of “wishful thinking”. Many of the things we believe as humans have nothing to do with how well something conforms to our observations. We humans have an incredible willingness to suspend belief for something we want. How many young men have continued to pursue that special lady in spite of her obvious lack of interest? How many miles have been driven with the check engine light brightly displayed in the hope that it has illuminated in error? How many fortunes have been lost pursuing ventures that have spoken clearly of their impracticability from the start?
Thanatism guards against this wishful thinking simply because its core tenet is so awful. We’ve perhaps all had moments where the sweet release of death seems like something positive, but for the vast majority of humans, for the vast majority of their lives, the prospect of their own, inevitable non-existence is the exact opposite of what they want. Rather, this prospect is terrifying.
A core belief that is both consistent with our day-to-day observations of the world and yet equally destructive of the self–what a perfect foundation for human reason. As such, Thanatism provides us with a core belief that is not only statistically compelling, but one that also guards against the most common moral failings of belief. There may be other core beliefs that share its statistical certainty, but there aren’t many that are so personal. Nothing is quite as intimate as death. It tears at our attempts to self-aggrandize. It makes us turn away in terror like nothing else. As such, although not our favorite belief, in fact, for the very reason that it is our least favorite belief, death and with it Thanatism, serve as a unique core from which to build our lives.