Fear of Death and Muddled Thinking - It Is So Much
Worse Than You Think
Robin Hanson
August 2005
Abstract
Humans clearly have trouble thinking about death. This trouble is often used to
explain behavior like delay in writing wills or buying life insurance, or interest in odd
medical and religious beliefs. But the problem is far worse than most people imagine.
Fear of death makes us spend fifteen percent of our income on medicine, from which
we get little or no health benefit, while we neglect things like exercise, which offer large
health benefits.
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