Death and the self

Abstract

Traditional philosophical frameworks and Buddhist doctrines suggest that recognizing the impermanence of the self should alleviate fear of death and reduce egocentricity. However, empirical data across Hindu, Western, and Buddhist populations reveal a significant divergence between doctrinal adherence and psychological response. While Tibetan Buddhist monastics provide the strongest explicit denials of a continuous or core self, they simultaneously report significantly higher levels of fear regarding self-annihilation than lay Buddhists, Hindus, or Westerners. Furthermore, in life-extension tradeoff tasks, these monastics demonstrate greater egocentricity, showing less willingness to sacrifice their own remaining lifespan to benefit a stranger compared to other groups. These findings challenge the assumption that the “no-self” doctrine serves as an effective psychological antidote to the fear of mortality or as a catalyst for altruism. Instead, the results suggest a robust resilience of innate self-grasping that persists despite intensive philosophical training. The perceived continuity of personal identity across the biological lifespan remains a primary driver of self-concern, even among populations that theoretically reject the existence of an enduring self. – AI-generated abstract.