There is some really interesting psychological literature which assumes that the foundational wiring of personality is laid in the womb, see Stanislav Grofs wri

There is some really interesting psychological literature which assumes that the foundational wiring of personality is laid in the womb, see Stanislav Grofs writings. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanislav_Grof https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanislav_Grof This has four potential archetypes: 1 The Amniotic Universe; 2 Cosmic Engulfment and No Exit; 3 The Death-Rebirth Struggle; 4 The Death-Rebirth Experience Number 3 can be characterized as the valiant heroic struggle against huge odds which leads to a peaceful new age. (i.e. vaginal birth, which is extremely challenging for the child as well as mother). Since most of us were at one time in a womb and then left it, this idea that our current state might end is indeed, as you said, hard-wired into the human brain. I can't say that the reason has been discovered, but Grof's theories cannot be immediately discarded.