Theoretical grounds are presented for considering the fear of death as not exclusively derived from the fear of castration and the fear of desertion by the superego (separation anxiety). The fear of death is also related to memory traces of states in which the self-image is extinguished. It is postulated that in the anal phase the equation of feces and the dead body shapes the fear of death into the dread of turning into feces. Fragments of three psychoanalyses were presented showing the fear of death in this form. One example demonstrates the significance of the fear of death as a partial motivating force for certain interests, such as philosophy and aesthetic inspiration.