About this episode

Dr. Sheldon Solomon discusses how our fear of death shapes civilization and how we can use terror management theory to foster compassion in the face of mortality.

Dr Sheldon Solomon (psychologist, founder of terror management theory) has spent 45 years proving that our fear of death is responsible for the structures of civilisation, such as religion, education, our moral laws, myths, consumerism, distraction technologies etc. Such structures keep us from being (fatally) overwhelmed by the uniquely human awareness that we will die one day. But what happens in a moment like this one, when so much death and annihilation looms? Well, our seductive death-denial efforts can drag us either way – into a tribal, fascist, self-destructive descent, or toward radical compassion and a life- affirming  future.  In this episode, I ask Sheldon to tell me how we (all of us here) can use his terror management theory to urgently steer things to the latter. This chat goes into juicy, philosophical territory but emerges with beautifully tangible answers for everyone in the “collapse aware” space. It’s a fun one! *Hint: yes, it would appear we can! About Sheldon Sheldon Solomon is a professor of psychology at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York. Solomon is best known for…

People in this episode

Host: Sarah Wilson

Guest: Dr Sheldon Solomon

Topics covered

• terror management theory
• death awareness
• civilization structures
• philosophy
• compassion
• human behavior

Keywords

• terror management theory
• death denial
• civilization
• compassion
• psychology
• Sheldon Solomon
• Sarah Wilson

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Skidmore College

Books & works: Wake of 9/11: The Psychology of Terror, The Worm at the Core: On the Role of Death in Life

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Wild with Sarah Wilson podcast page.