IS THIS MY IMMORTALITY PROJECT?

CHEATERS INC. & DUMB LUCK LTD. Part 27 From The Chapter – Awakening

An immortality project coined and described by Ernest Becker in his book, The Denial of Death, refers to a fear-of-death coping method in which people build something that will last beyond their death. An immortality project could include many things, such as a cultural, artistic, or religious legacy. Authorship often takes the role of an immortality project since thoughts, feelings, ideas, and values become preserved in a lasting form for generations. Writing immortality projects also provide life with meaning and purpose. Writing as an immortality project is not a new idea. Many seek to preserve something of themselves, which raises doubts about the authenticity of the immortality project.

Authorship as an immortality project raises ethical and existential questions concerning whether this writing accurately represents the writer or forms a deception, such as an exercise in ego to preserve themselves in a positive light. More pragmatic views of the immortality project include the relevance of such writing in the future, evidenced by the many texts lining library shelves, essentially forgotten.