The psychodynamic conception of the 'death instinct' and its relevance to organisations

Death, like taxes, is said to be inevitable. Yet, in Western societies at least, the topic of death and mortality is not something that is easily talked about in general conversation. When it is discussed it is often couched in euphemism and, commonly, in a context that suggests that the finality of it might be transcended in a spiritual sense. Perhaps, even in the sense of being immortal through the written word. Such is our general avoidance and repulsion for the topic of death that Beverley Clack has recently argued that in Western societies "human culture … is … defined by the attempt to overcome the knowledge of human mortality" (Clack, 2002, p. 61). Plastic surgery, cosmetics and the like are employed to keep us looking young, thus avoiding the obvious signs of mortality