According the Norwegian Philosopher Peter Wessel Zapffe, humans are born with an overdeveloped consciousness which does not fit into nature\'s design. The human craving for justification on matters such as life, death and meaning cannot be satisfied, hence humanity has a need that life cannot fully satisfy. The tragedy, following this theory, is that humans spend their time trying to dull their consciousness, to escape the burdens of existential reflection. The human being is thus a paradox, given that self-reflection is one of the prime attributes associated with human consciousness. Death anxiety is a major part of this reflection, according to Zapffe, the human being is unique among living beings in the ability to reflect on their own forthcoming death.

In ‘The Last Messiah’ (1933), Zapffe described four principal defense mechanisms that humankind uses to avoid facing this paradox:

I. Isolation

This is “a fully arbitrary dismissal from consciousness of all disturbing and destructive thought and feeling\".

II. Anchoring

This is the \"fixation of points within, or construction of walls around, the liquid fray of consciousness\". The anchoring mechanism provides individuals with a value or an ideal to consistently focus their attention on. Zapffe also applied the anchoring principle to society and stated that \"God, the Church, the State, morality, fate, the laws of life, the people, the future\" are all examples of collective primary anchoring firmaments.

III. Distraction

This is when \"one limits attention to the critical bounds by constantly enthralling it with impressions\". Distraction focuses all of one\'s energy on a task or idea to prevent the mind from turning in on itself.

IV. Sublimation

This is the refocusing of energy away from negative outlets, toward positive ones. The individuals distance themselves and look at their existence from an aesthetic point of view (e.g., writers, poets, painters). Zapffe himself pointed out that his produced works were the