Question: according to terror management theory what is the primary motive of human beings

title: Terror management theory
text: Originally , the emergence of morality evolved to facilitate co-existence within groups . Together with language , morality served pragmatic functions that extended survival . The struggle to deny the finality of death co-opted and changed the function of these cultural inventions . For example , Neanderthals might have begun burying their dead as a means of avoiding unpleasant odors , disease - infested parasites , or dangerous scavengers . But during the Upper Paleolithic era , these pragmatic burial practices appear to have become imbued with layers of ritual performance and supernatural beliefs , suggested by the elaborate decoration of bodies with thousands of beads or other markers . Food and other necessities were also included within the burial chamber , indicating the potential for a belief system that included life after death . In many human cultures today , funerals are viewed primarily as cultural events , viewed through the lens of morality and language , with little thought given to the utilitarian origins of burying the dead .