gear and when to brake. In other words this uncertainty of his own immortality affects every motoring thought he has, while he is at the wheel. So his every motoring thought and action are functions of his uncertain belief, which in turn is a function of his whole personality. Therefore, all his motoring thoughts and actions are also functions of his whole personality. This exactly corresponds with everyday experience. We say that when a man gets behind the wheel of a motor car, it does something to him, all his baser instincts come out; or that young men drive fast sports cars so as to give vent to their self-expression. It is saying the same thing in ordinary language.
The important thing is however that we make this fascinating discovery that the overshadowing of each one of us by the fear of death does affect our every thought and action; because of course there is nothing special about the way we drive motor cars. Driving a motor car is merely a useful example with which we are all familiar. If the phenomenon applies to motor cars, it must apply equally to every other thought process, theology, politics, art, law, soldiering. It must apply to every other kind of activity, organised religion, the House of Commons, the theatre, the courts, the private soldier keeping his head down. It is not just a question of the fear of death influencing our thoughts and behaviour, because this presupposes a conscious thought process. There is no time for this; everyday life moves too fast. And anyway such conscious thought processes would tend to result in disjointed staccato behaviour. To result in natural spontaneous behaviour the fear of death must influence the very thought processes and actions themselves. In other words the thoughts and actions must be a function of the fear or lack of belief, as I have suggested.
Now the only obvious way in which a fear can operate in this way is by distorting the consciousness, which is the framework within which all thought processes take place, and all actions are performed. I have of course already…