Latin for “his cause,” causa-sui is Ernest Becker’s own term for the “projects” we use to achieve meaning in our lives, such as jobs, relationships, or ambitions.

In Freudian psychology, the “ego” basically comprises a person’s sense of self and the rational part of their mind. The “superego” refers to a person’s internalized social and cultural rules. Becker refers to the culture a person is born into as itself the superego (265).

“Heroism” is a term used by Ernest Becker to describe the drive people have to assert themselves as individuals and become part of something greater.