Citation

Mitchell NL, Schulman KR. J. Natl. Med. Assoc. 1981; 73(10): 963-967.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1981, National Medical Association (USA))

DOI

unavailable

PMID

7310912

PMCID

PMC2552698

Abstract

The central hypothesis of this paper is that the innate fear of death in the human being is universal and that the child, least of all, is immune to death fear and its symbolic representation. This cuts across all ages and developmental levels. This paper is not concerned with the empirical knowledge of death, an area that has been extensively explored by others such as Nagy (1948), Piaget (1929), and Anthony (1940).Examination of the child and his relationship to death is important in order to reach the truth and understand the human meaning of the fear of death.The child's conception of himself and his relationship to the world is an ironic paradox. On one hand, he feels endowed with magical feelings of omnipotence. This feeling is the main defense against the fear of death. On the other hand, his wishes, both benevolent and malevolent, have power independent of him to influence events. The concept of chance is alien, and the differentiation between objective and wishful causation is obscured. Thus, the way in which the child perceives his world makes the terror of death more formidable.SEVERAL CONCLUSIONS ARE REACHED IN THIS PAPER: (1) that even in childhood, loss, endings, separations, and death are core concerns of the individual; (2) that fear of death in children is intensified by the absence of the intellectual equipment and the absence of the necessary defense mechanisms essential for comprehending the experience of loss; and (3) that repression of the fear of death is an evolutionary process which has its origin in childhood.

Language: en