Does “Symbolic Immortality” Fulfill the Human Desire for Survival?
The doctrine of “symbolic immortality,” or dissolution into the Dao, faces a deep existential and psychological dilemma.
Studies in philosophical psychology, particularly Terror Management Theory, indicate that human beings possess an innate, instinctive, and urgent desire to survive and preserve their individual identity in the face of the inevitability of death.
Taoism addresses this existential anxiety through a withdrawal-based approach: it proposes abandoning the “self” and considering self-awareness as merely an illusion resulting from dualistic thinking.
True immortality, according to this view, lies in accepting the transformation of human energy (Qi) into part of a tree, wind, or soil within the infinite cosmic cycle.
The problem here is twofold and strikes at the core of human meaning:
First, this perspective fails entirely to satisfy the deep human desire for conscious survival. The individual does not seek mere physical continuity of the atoms composing their body circulating in nature. Rather, they seek the استمرار of their consciousness, memory, distinct soul, and unique personality.
“Second, the dissolution of the self and the elimination of individual identity empties human life of any teleological meaning.