...Erich Fromm wondered why most people did not become insane in the face of the existential contradiction between a symbolic self, that seems to give man infinite worth in a timeless scheme of things, and a body that is worth about 98ยข.
Ernest BeckerThe real world is simply too terrible to admit. it tells man that he is a small trembling animal who will someday decay and die. Culture changes all of this,makes man seem important,vital to the universe. immortal in some ways
Ernest BeckerOnce you base your whole life striving on a desperate lie, and try to implement that lie, you instrument your own undoing.
Ernest BeckerWhy would a person prefer the accusations of guilt, unworthiness, ineptitude โ even dishonor and betrayal โ to real possibility? This may not seem to be the choice, but it is: complete self-effacement, surrender to the โothers,โ disavowal of any personal dignity or freedom โ on the one hand; and freedom and independence, movement away from the others, extrication of oneself from the binding links of family and social duties-on the other hand. This is the choice that the depressed person actually faces.
Ernest Becker