158 - Sheldon Solomon: Terror Management Theory and the Denial of Death

Sheldon Solomon is Professor of Psychology at Skidmore College. He is best known for developing terror management theory with Tom Pyszczynski and Jeff Greenberg, which explores human psychology and mortality. In this episode, Robinson and Sheldon discuss Ernest Becker’s groundbreaking book The Denial of Death, how it influenced him and his collaborators, and how they have studied—with the tools of contemporary social psychology—how humans are affected by their sense of mortality.

The Worm at the Core: https://a.co/d/7p05yA6

OUTLINE

00:00 In This Episode…

00:51 Introduction

03:33 Discovering Ernest Becker

08:29 What Is Self-Esteem?

19:04 Freud and the Denial of Death

27:20 Man and the Heroic Journey

46:41 Where Was Becker Wrong?

54:44 What Is Terror Management Theory?

01:06:26 Children’s Fear of Death

01:10:23 A History of Death Denial

01:14:19 Possible Criticisms

01:18:00 A Prescriptive Dimension to Death Denial

Robinson’s Website: http://robinsonerhardt.com

Robinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University. Join him in conversations with philosophers, scientists, weightlifters, artists, and everyone in-between.