Memento Mori - The Optimization Obsession. The Evading of Death and the Cruelty of the Performance-Driven Society

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Authors

Publication Details

Journal
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Published
2026-09-19
DOI
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22842722
Primary Topic
Doping in Sports
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00
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article

Memento Mori - The Optimization Obsession. The Evading of Death and the Cruelty of the Performance-Driven Society

Peter Siegfried Krug
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Doping in Sports
article

Memento Mori - The Optimization Obsession. The Evading of Death and the Cruelty of the Performance-Driven Society

Peter Siegfried Krug
article en

Abstract

This philosophical essay by Peter Siegfried Krug examines a fundamental crisis of the 21st century: the deep-seated hypocrisy of a society that represses and evades the reality of death like never before. In place of human finitude, an obsession with self-optimization, academic titles, and material possessions have been defined as the ultimate measures of human worth. To ground this contemporary critique, the work traces the historical and cultural evolution of mortality. It explores how writers, poets, and philosophers from Classical Antiquity, Ancient Rome, and the Baroque era actively confronted and integrated death into everyday life. By analyzing historical practices and literary traditions, Krug demonstrates that acknowledging our mortality was historically weaponized as a vital tool to overcome the vanities of ownership, superficial status, and the illusion of absolute control. In stark contrast, modern society systematically drives highly talented individuals into a merciless rat race that frequently culminates in suicide. Rather than questioning the structural cruelty of a performance-driven system that measures human value solely based on output, the media and public resort to euphemisms such as "passed away suddenly and unexpectedly." Through this narrative, the individual is pathologized and labeled as merely "depressed," absolving the system of its complicity. Finally, the text connects this social alienation to the absurd excesses of modern mass and extreme sports. Using phenomena like extreme trail running (following the footsteps of extreme climbers like Ueli Steck) or obsessive ultra-distance cycling, Krug illustrates how the optimization craze and controlled risks in nature serve as a substitute religion. The essay stands as a powerful reminder that every human being possesses an inherent dignity and worth—completely independent of status, performance, and social utility.

Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Openalex Percentile: Top 4%
Doping in Sports
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