Life and Death

 

For centuries charlatans have proselytized "longevity" while being in an unfriendly world.Despite the irrationality, the Spanish explorer Ponce de Leon was remembered for his futile "Fountain of Youth" pursuit . More recently, functional medicine , theories of aging  and even hucksters are pursuing better aging by promoting their various wares and their secrets. And today,  it’s not surprising that AI billionaires are in the transformation. 

A pertinent article titled "The Quest To Reverse Aging" was found in the May 10,2026 edition of the New York Times.  In this article, the focus, in part, was on a number of longevity experiments that included a rejuvenation of  cells in mice which  prolonged life in the laboratory and a search for cures like cancer. 

Existentially, we are a mere isolated speck in the universe . Psychologically ,that paradox is anxiety  related as  individuals are on a quest in  desiring  not only to make one's life matter  but also to find a meaning for one’s life.  That outcome  often results in becoming good at something and /or a  merging of self with another-something greater and a denial of mortality . 

Additionally, a  merging of self with another is related to man's separateness which arouses terror-anxiety.  In fact, the deepest need for man is to overcome his separateness ,his aloneness and isolation .Man has been very “ creative” in attempting to overcome  separateness, transcending his own individual life, finding meaning and denying death .  

Many years ago,  man’s anxiety from isolation was “lessened” with  religion . He   merged , spiritually, with a belief in God, to overcome  the anxiety related to his  separateness .And it did not matter if he was a slave, poor, evil, a tyrant, a criminal, ruthless, or even sadomasochistic . Because , with purgatory ,salvation, repentance and faith in Jesus Christ he could become  loved eternally in heaven.

Briefly, a few other ways of overcoming and/or escaping from the anxiety associated with separateness relates to induced trance, sexual orgasms, drugs, alcohol , sports, political , government  and group associations. Many of these avenues are  not only short lived  and they do not “fix”the existential crisis of finding meaning,alleviating anxiety, or solving the reality of aging or death.

With capitalism and its technology , modern man has  pursued power, possession,  status, and now AI as its new God  to solve his existential existence .

About 6,ooo years ago ,man turned to one God to deal with the terror of living and was able to transcend it by becoming ,identifying and becoming dependent on that supreme being.But, over time, man has fulfilled that dependency, separation anxiety need by being with another, thus replacing God.  A romantic love object became the desire, the ideal to fulfill one's life and  to meet all one's needs within  his existential state.

The love object has been deified in poetry, music, novels , art and movies and can be characterized by a hunger for the experience or a serious emotional yearning for such.  For instance love song lyrics strive as being of divine perfection, being wonderful, sexual objects, devotion, ecstasy, all encompassing resulting in transcendence, a merging with another .  A Hindu song provides an example "my lover is like God, if he accepts me ,my existence is.utilized.  "Love" , a dependency ,is  based on separation anxiety, and the  illusion that it results as a solution for man's  existence .

Although romantic love in marriage and unions have terrible statistics, the behaviors  still exist.  Man can and does not find a solution for his existence in love , marriage  and unions because of some of the following interpersonal characteristics found in these  relationships.  Briefly: 1.  A husband or wife is often the  replacement or rebellion against  one's parents  2.  There's a discrepancy between unconscious and conscious sexual desires and gratification-fulfillment of desires 3. There’s variations in coitus along with frigidity or impotence.  4.  Expectations and degree of love felt are likely overestimates and illusions 5.  Too many personal and professional sacrifices result in affecting one's independence  or becoming a slave. This compromise results in disillusionment ,buried hostility ,distrust ,disappointments  that interfere with monogamy 6.  Others become objects of love as one seeks new love objects when sex becomes tiresome and boring  7. The offspring gets more warmth, care ,empathy and tenderness 8.  Dread of not being able to satisfy is biologically the male as he must prove himself again and again-masculinity 9.  Imperfections don't change over time and become more visible .And, one cannot possibly fulfill all the other's needs.  10.  The ability to support ,lifelong companionship , fidelity and sexual cooperation becomes a tremendous burden placed on those two individuals.

Essentially, no human being can be godlike and everything to another.  Looking for that "perfect human object", looking for someone who will allow us to express our will completely without any frustration is unrealistic.  The object reflects the ideal image of ourselves and no human being can accomplish this.  Everyone has wills ,counter wills, moves against and with actions that offend .Everyone has imperfections and these shortcomings become major threats.

Importantly, fear, hate and  greed are primitive emotions associated with humans. However, being human is man's ability to develop his powers of reason and love. Is AI going to further the ability of man in  becoming more human and solve his problem of existence ?  Should we become disobedient to the propaganda of the  ruling class of AI billionaires like Musk, Huang, Wang ,Altman and others?  Disobedience is saying "no" to these powerful men while utilizing our intellectual capacity. as their passion is clear.

Years ago Adler hypothesized that it was empathy, concern for society and human welfare that directed behavior . However,these narcissists are characterized by  fear,hate and their insatiable greed. Their actions and their monetary accumulation depicts their primitive emotions and devotion to idol worship.  Their insatiable greed cannot ever be fulfilled.

 AI is going to replace many humans in the workplace.  However, AI cannot replace human innovation,  creativity , curiosity and imagination, nor can it provide meaningful mutual interactions with  actual emotional empathy, caring, respect or mutual organisms.

Larry Ellison "I don't want to die; I don't have to die."  Are you going to be ruled ,subjugated and dominated by these,   42%will eventually develop dementia  over age 55 and technology has no answer. How many of these billionaires are going to become dementia free? Add Ai to the threat of global warming, and nuclear war. How much time  is left on the  Doomsday Clock?

Man has developed many actions in dealing with the anxiety from his aloneness.  Some strategies work better than others but some have very bad consequences.  Further, the reality of our mortality  is clear as we all are going to pass.  It makes sense to use our intellectual capacity of reason, an understanding of our primitive emotions, and employing humanistic ethics while navigating our short time in this galaxy.

PS

The best  choices for optimum  health have to do with vigorous exercise , a nutritional diet, affiliation, intellectual  and work productivity while living in reality.

Reference

Becker, Ernest. The Denial of Death .

Horney,Karen. Feminine Psychology.

Gen Z

 

Needless to say, there are many problems going on in our Republic.  An article titled "Courtship in an Age of Narcissism" in the March 8 2026 edition of The New York Times depicted another significant concern.  This article stated that Gen Z-ers aren't dating because they're too self obsessed.  My response follows.

According to the article, many male heterosexuals are unable to connect with a romantic or sexual partner. Instead, they offer contradictions and rationalizations like blame  and objectify and denigrate females. They also rationalize that their looks have prevented them from entering into romantic and sexual relationships. Some are narcissistically obsessed with improving their physical appearance; talk about aesthetics as destiny and attractiveness  as a measure of human worth.

With their contradictions, limited reasoning ability,  the use of defense mechanisms,and other self-deceptions ,these teenagers  instead are choosing  AI ,Chatbot and other devices as pseudo-friends with the illusion and mythology.  Their choices are only “security blankets” which do not dismiss their anxiety, depression, boredom, loneliness, insecurities and other figments of their imagination that take place between their ears.

One moneymaking wealthy streamer known as Clavicular claimed that he injected steroids at age 14, to improve his physique ,dabbled in crystal meth and  hit himself in the face with a hammer to heighten cheekbones to create a sharper jawline. He added that dating was a burden in today's hyper- glamorous environment. And, that thinking he could have sex with a woman was perhaps better than the deed itself-it's a big timesaver.

 Gen Z-ers  were born between the years of 1992 and 2012  and have experienced an economic meltdown;Covid-19 pandemic-social isolation; and the technological smart phone revolution.  Online dating and advice  influencers like Tik Tok, Instagram, YouTube and streaming sites  have  dispensed warnings about having too many sexual partners, dangers of being excessively attentive , being submissive with uninterested love objects, and so forth . In other words, there's lots of online nonsense, hate,scapegoating and claiming  that  women are the evil ones.

Multiple studies find that  these young people are not dating, having sex or forming meaningful partnerships. It was reported that 30% of its respondents were actively dating and about half of them indicated that they were interested in finding a relationship . They cited a lack of confidence. Less than 40% believed themselves to be attractive and were not comfortable discussing their feelings with another. And only  1/4 % felt confident in approaching a potential partner or  staying positive after a dating  rejection .

The mutuality of  meaningful interpersonal relationships is based on many factors and it is no wonder that there's a declining birthrate in our country.  The Gen Z population is aware of many social, economic, and political problems such as the wealth gap, excessive and outrageous college costs, inflationary trends, online hate,AI, and the cost to rear children.  Also according to AI, approximately 40 to 50% of first  marriages end in divorce; second marriages 60 to 70% ;the average duration before divorce is about eight years; and the divorce rate is highest among individuals aged 20 to 24.  

A few Gen Z statistics follow: 1.  42% of eligible voters voted in the 2024 presidential election 2.  In the 10 to 24 age group, suicide was the second leading cause of death.  3.  54% are living at home with their parents.  4.  56% in the 18 to 25 age group are obese or overweight and 42% in the age group 18 to 24  5.  21% of 18 to 29-year-olds own a firearm.  6.  Average IQ is 101 7.  There is a 10 point decline in reading scores and a 15 point decline in math scores in 2022 8.  Luigi Mangione, Tyler Robinson and Cole Thomas Allen attained notoriety 9.  Teens as a result of  social media sites are  taking over , congregating  and forming  acting out mobs.  10.60% favor Hamas vs. Israel .11, Favor violence for political change.

According to Erik H.  Erikson's psychosocial model, humans proceed through eight psychosocial stages .The following stages apply : Stage 1 Sense of Trust versus Sense of  Mistrust; Stage 5  Identity versus Role Confusion and Stage 6 Intimacy versus Isolation 

The psychological  task in the first stage is to develop social trust which is related to  feeding , sleep, relaxation of  bowels and dealing with the discomfort that follows resulting from parenting. Does the  mother become associated with an inner certainty , predictability, consistency, continuity and sameness during this most critical  period  ?  If so, the infant has much going for him  emotionally and cognitively in tackling the next seven stages  With positive involvement, caring, love and experience and in developing a sense of trust with mother can and does generalize to others.  In other words, an  infant  boy's  emotional relationship with his mother has tremendous implications for future associations and relationships with females.

With the high divorce rate, many of these Gen Z ers are likely to have a single-parent as caregiver. Significant  research with the young has found that sleep difficulties are related to sexual and aggressive difficulties, emotional frustration from earlier unresolved issues along  with bedwetting and anxiety about masturbation. 

 Freud considered enuresis to be a form of "pollution" or masturbatory equivalent.  And ,it has been found that children use this symptom as an aggressive or passive aggressive way in dealing with their parents.Also, night time fears are associated with the identification with the opposite sex parent with fantasies of genital damage . As a consequence, punishment is belted out to the parents  as a result from this power struggle of wills between mother and child.

Defense mechanisms associated with these early childhood issues and conflicts  come into play. For example,Displacement is the mental activity in which the child symbolically exchanges one part for another, or one person for another There is a repressed desire for  bodily sensations, especially one's  masturbation impulses  .Also, in early development ,the feelings of hatred toward  parents are directed especially toward the mother . 

 Another defense mechanism Turning Against Self is when sex is prohibited toward females . This behavior is when the aggressive drive is turned inward , as in masturbation,which means sex is not turned outward.  Undoing is a defense mechanism in which the magic of  abstinence and  virginity annuls the forbidden act.

The defense mechanism of Identification is when the child unconsciously becomes the same as his parents or others as internalization takes place with  similar behavioral aspects .  In a single and two -parent household. The child or adolescent can  attack and even move away from  caring and intimacy with  others just like mother’s behavior .  

Therefore , lack of caring,intimacy or sexual engagement with females are just some of the psychological issues related to single-parent families in which the negative attitudes , values and behavior are openly expressed and transmitted to the children. The mother might constantly badmouth , scapegoat, blame and interfere with visitation and remove pictures of the other verbally, symbolically and behaviorally.  These negative and aggressive attacks toward the other parent  do irreparable harm and affect interpersonal relationships both in the short and long term .

To be continued

A Fearful Species 3

 

This essay is a continuation of "A Fearful Species."  Philosophically, there have been many descriptions and explanations of man's conduct that include motivation, knowledge, instincts, will,free will , consciousness, hedonism, fear, feelings and evolution.  With that being said, anxiety and contentment are significantly pervasive components underlying man's thinking and behavioral actions.

From a neurological point of view, human beings have "three brains."  They include the reptilian brain; the subconscious brain and the conscious brain.  In each of these locations of the brain can be found defending territory, fear, flight, fight ,anger and abstract thought.  Therefore, Homo sapiens are neurologically well equipped for survival- fear and anxiety.

Psychologically speaking, Freud and  Rank, with sophistication, accurately described anxiety as a prototype based on the terror of the newborn's birth.  Freud, in his psychoanalytic model, postulated the mental apparatus consisting of the id, the ego and the superego along with the psychosexual determinants of character and behavior that included the oral ,anal and phallic stages of development.

In the oral stage, the anxious infant is helpless and dependent.  That infant can be characterized as essentially being in a constant or inordinate state of anxiety or tension with no relief and developmentally followed with feelings of "love" and "hate."  Its contentment and/or confrontation is only provided by the ability of the caretaker.

A few of the characteristics that are associated with the oral stage include but are not limited to separation and stranger anxiety, obesity, oral aggression, drug and alcohol addiction, dependency trust, mistrust, passivity, cowardice, gullibility, and wishful thinking with numerous valences.

These conflictual dynamics, if not resolved from the oral stage, are present and transmitted into the anal stage of psychosexual development.  Toilet training becomes a struggle of wills with aggression ,passivity ,tension and anxiety with the caretaker.  At this stage, psychological issues of shame, control, independence, possessiveness, compulsiveness, stubbornness, coldness, suspiciousness and stinginess become apparent.

Moving to the phallic stage of psychosexual development,  are anxiety issues related to competition and sex.  Further ,problems with guilt, intimacy, celibacy, jealousy, adultery, masturbation, herpes, AIDS, sadomasochism, sexual abuse, divorce, and abortion dynamics associated with anxiety, fear, tension and action  are associated in  this stage of development.

Adler presented another  aspect in his theory regarding human motivation that included smallness, weakness, helplessness, and compensation for weak ,injured or absent body parts.  Further, Adler also postulated a psychic compensation mechanism, meaning a striving for superiority and that for him was perfection  which was the ruling principle of life.

In essence, anxiety, insecurity, tension and fear underlies feelings of inadequacy, weakness, and inferiority . When striving for the betterment or social interests of society one becomes confronted with  terror, injustices, income inequality, lies, oppression, wars, and discrimination within that  system of tension .

In Murray's personology theory, he addressed tension reduction and the categorization of needs.  He viewed the brain as an organization of perception, apperception, intellectualization,conation and action that's related to and accompanied by particular feelings or emotions which are associated with those needs.

The abasement need it described as accepting injury ,punishment ,mutilating the self ,seeking and enjoying pain and punishment which underlies anxiety or tension.  In other words, a hypothetical state of tension results in a movement toward a goal.  And with the abasement need, there are many actions related to harming self, which is of course related to character and self-esteem.  In my running of the 100 mile Western States, there was anxiety and pain that was necessary to confront .  This led to the achievement need, which is related to accomplishing something difficult.

Another example is the dominance need, which means controlling one's environment by suggestion ,command or by prohibiting which is also  associated with neurotic behaviors of pursuing power, possession, status, and affection.  Essentially, it's the dreadful experience of anxiety that underlines, needs, motives such as sex, achievement, affiliation, dominance, power, aggression, dependency abasement, and so forth.

From a cognitive point of view, Ellis hypothesized that thinking and emotion are associated and never separated fully from the other executive functions of perceiving, moving and feeling.  He described emotion as an acute disturbance involving marked somatic changes which is experienced as a more or less agitated feeling.  He felt that words can be emotionally charged and have physiological, psychological, and social components.  Further, he added that emotions arose from physical stimulation located in the emotional center of the brain-the hypothalamus and the nerve network of the body-the autonomic nervous system.  Second, through perceiving and moving-the sensorimotor process and third through desire and thinking-conation and cognition.

Rational Emotive therapy is based on the ability to use cognition or thinking to ameliorate one's emotional disturbances - thinking and emoting are related.  Clear thinking leads to sane behavior and irrational thinking leads to neurotic behavior.  And, attitudes, ideas, and use of negative or positive words affect emotions and behavior.

Ellis gave a number of examples of irrational ideas that stand in the way of leading an anxiety free life.  A few examples: 1.  The dire necessity for an adult to be loved or approved by almost everyone for virtually everything he does- need for approval.  2.  Individuals should be thoroughly competent and adequate in achieving in all possible aspects-fear of failure.  3 if something is or may be dangerous or fearsome.one should not be terribly occupied  about it-conquering anxiety.

Homo sapiens have created a capitalistic civilization in which individuals encounter enormous and ongoing fear and anxiety.  Anxiety, fear, tension, stress is pervasive in socioeconomic's religion, politics and government.  Economically speaking, the threat of inflation, savings, bankruptcy, homelessness, insurance ,war, criminal justice, lies ,and immigration is constantly witnessed in newspapers, television news, social media, TV advertisements, movies, novels, music, and so forth.  It seems that just about every aspect of living in our civilization is associated with obstacles and plethora of threats to well-being.

Nature also poses threats from  floods, fires, tornadoes, earthquakes, snowstorms, and global warming.  And man is feeble in his attempts to deal with these threats as exhibited by the injustices of insurance, government agencies, building codes, rules, regulations and so forth.  It's no wonder that i Phone technology has become a security blanket for so many.

Freud, Rank, Adler ,Murray and Ellis have provided insight into man's dilemmas.  Their insights are known, but a major stumbling block to man's security, safety, freedom and well-being lies within the brain's limbic system with its emotional non-evolutionary composition; the intellectual productiveness(cerebral cortex) to falsify, distort reality and identify with"father"saviors of power(defense mechanisms) which perpetuate minority control and take away freedom ,security and well-being .  God messed up!

PS

About 15 years ago,at age 71,I wrote in "It Has Nothing To Do With Age," I prescribed seven prescriptions for creating a healthier lifestyle cognitively and emotionally.  Factually, there's no need to make any adjustments as these ideas have served me well.  I recently had a Bruce Protocol Treadmill and the doctor said “ I broke the record with my performance.”  And, Benjamin Disraeli, "action may not always bring happiness, but there is no happiness without action."

Reference

Adler, Alfred.  Individual Psychology

Freud, Sigmund.  A General Introduction to Psychoanalysis

Harper, Robert A. and Ellis, Albert.  A Guide  To Rational Living

Lieberman, Frank.  It Has Nothing To Do With Age.

Murray, Henry A.  Explorations in Personality