Copyright Resilience
Recorded on: Sep 25, 2025 Description Many of us wrestle with the unsettling truth that everyone – including ourselves and those we love – will one day die. Though this awareness is uncomfortable, research suggests that the human capacity to contemplate death is a byproduct of consciousness itself. In fact, our efforts to cope with mortality are at the core of culture, religion, the desire for wealth, and even many of today’s societal crises. How might a deeper understanding of our implicit reactions to mortality help us turn towards responses that are more supportive of our species and planet? In this episode, Nate is joined by Sheldon Solomon, a psychologist and co-developer of Terror Management Theory, which posits that while all living beings strive to survive, humans are unique in knowing that death is unavoidable. Solomon explores some of our instinctual coping mechanisms, including clinging to existing cultural worldviews and activities that bolster our self-esteem, even when they may have negative consequences for those around us. He also explains how these defensive mechanisms manifest in modern society, influencing politics, consumerism, and religious beliefs. Why does our fear of death drive materialism and the endless hunger for “more”? How do reminders of death impact our attitudes toward people with different political or religious beliefs? And lastly, could practices rooted in mindfulness, gratitude, and awe help us to more skillfully relate to death anxiety by strengthening our relationships, giving to our community, and reveling in the expansive magnificence of the universe in which we get to inhabit? About Sheldon Solomon Sheldon Solomon is Professor of Psychology at Skidmore College. His research on the behavioral effects of the unique human awareness of death have been supported by the National Science Foundation and the Ernest Becker Foundation, and were featured in the award winning documentary film Flight from Death: The Quest for Immortality. Sheldon is the co-author of the book In the Wake of 9/11: The Psychology of Terror and The Worm at the Core: On the Role of Death in Life. Additionally, he is an American Psychological Society Fellow, as well as a recipient of an American Psychological Association Presidential Citation (2007) and a Lifetime Career Award by the International Society for Self and Identity (2009). Show Notes & Links to Learn More The TGS team puts together these brief references and show notes for the learning and convenience of our listeners. However, most of the points made in episodes hold more nuance than one link can address, and we encourage you to dig deeper into any of these topics and come to your own informed conclusions. 00:00 – Sheldon Solomon, Scholarly works, Academic Vita, The Worm at the Core, In the Wake of 9/11 00:48 – Terror Management Theory (TMT) (More info), Co-Developers: Jeff Greenberg & Thomas Pyszczynski 03:20 – Ernest Becker (The Birth and Death of Meaning, Denial of Death, Escape from Evil) 04:07 – Darwinian assumption that all organisms are predisposed to self-preservation 05:10 – Humans are uber-social creatures, we are very smart, and we’re great at imagining things 06:15 – Soren Kierkegaard, Fear and Trembling, awe and dread 09:05 – Existential Terror/Postulations 09:10 – Psychological Equanimity 09:39 – Cultural Worldview (Becker and TMT) 10:00 – Every culture has a story of the origin of the universe, how we ought to behave, and promise of immortality in order to create meaning 11:00 – Becker’s definition of self-esteem 12:50 – Becker’s Pulitzer Prize 13:20 – Becker’s Freudian influence 14:16 – Ajit Varki, MORT Theory 15:08 – Denial – Ajit Varki and Danny Brower 15:26 – Did Human Reality Denial Breach the Evolutionary Psychological Barrier of Mortality Salience? – Ajit Varki 17:11 – Debate on whether humans are the only creatures with consciousness and awareness of death 18:47 – from Becker – only humans are aware of their own death at a really early age and are concerned about it under low likelihood of dying 19:10 – The Child’s Discovery Of Death: A Study in Child Psychology by Sylvia Anthony 20:18 – Immortality by Stephen Cave 21:15 – Darwin’s study of earthworms and death as a part of the cycle of life 22:11 – We all develop unique perceptions of the reality around us 22:15 – Etymology of ‘consciousness’ 22:21 – Heidegger’s concept of “Thrownness,” Ernest Becker on meaning through culture 24:25 – Ernest Becker: history is a succession of immortality ideologies 24:55 – Ancient burial sites and beliefs in the afterlife 25:35 – Monotheistic religions, Gilgamesh 25:54 – Terracotta warrior burials, Pyramid burials with boat graves 26:10 – People who freeze their head for immortality, Striving to upload minds to ‘the cloud’ 26:44 – Juan Ponce de León 27:32 – Oswald Spengler, The Decline of the West 27:38 – Friedrich Nietzsche 28:48 – The Gay Science, “God is dead” full quote 29:51 – Ricky Gervais: “I believe in one less God” 30:38 – Etymology of ‘religion’ 30:42 – Emile Durkheim – The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life 31:08 – Religion’s role in life 33:11 – Michael Rhys, et al. – God is up and devil is down: mortality salience increases implicit spatial-religious associations 33:29 – Mike Friedman and W. Steven Rholes – Successfully challenging fundamentalist beliefs results in increased death awareness 33:57 – Melissa Soenke, et al. – Investigating the Role of Normative Support in Atheists’ Perceptions of Meaning Following Reminders of Death 34:29 – Jonathan Jong, et al. – Foxhole atheism, revisited: The effects of mortality salience on explicit and implicit religious belief 35:10 – Aaron E. Sedler, et al. – Spiritual Struggles Among Atheists: Links to Psychological Distress and Well-Being 35:52 – Sarah E. Wolfe, Mortality salience, Mortality prime 36:40 – Jodi Wellman – How the Contemplation of Death Can Lead to Meaning in Life 37:18 – Neuroscientists that found that death reminders have a unique and common neural pathway, and positive coping mechanism modify that neural pathway 39:28 – Liberal vs. conservative reactions to death reminders 39:45 – Meaning of conservative and liberal 40:32 – Political orientation is largely a genetic inheritance 41:49 – Global Heating impacts, Pandemics, Economic instability, Escalating armed conflict, Global shift from democracy to fascism 43:05 – President Trump declaration that climate change is a hoax 43:15 – Eve Darian Smith, Global Burning 43:55 – Mussolini definition of fascism and corporatism 44:32 – Denial of Death on Hitler – Chapter 7 44:50 – Max Weber, Weber on charismatic authority 45:07 – Heightened concerns about mortality should intensify the appeal of charismatic leaders, Additional study, Additional study 45:37 – President George W. Bush approval ratings pre- and post- 9/11 46:30 – Sheldon Solomon, et al. – Deliver us from Evil: The Effects of Mortality Salience and Reminders of 9/11 on Support for President George W. Bush 47:20 – Psychological view on fascism 47:35 – Sheldon Solomon, et al. – You’re Hired! Mortality Salience Increases Americans’ Support for Donald Trump 48:43 – Steve Bannon, Jennifer Kavanaugh and Michael D. Rich – Truth Decay 49:15 – Misinformation thrives on emotional triggers 49:40 – Short history of global living conditions by multiple metrics 50:45 – Peter Turchin, Peter Turchin on TGS, 2010 prediction on American collapse 52:10 – Immiseration causing shorter humans and shorter life expectancy 53:02 – Facism is a far-right ideology 53:24 – The New Deal to the Reagan Era 54:13 – Income inequality is increasing 54:50 – “Woke” 55:40 – Gallup* study on American’s satisfaction with U.S. by party ID 56:30 – Peter Turchin on Cliodynamics 57:38 – American propaganda comparable to Hiter and Putin 57:55 – Social media does not provide unbiased content 58:10 – Very few Americans read newspapers or even read at all, Some* get their news from social media 58:35 – Fox News reliability vs. MSNBC Reliability 59:20 – Mortality salience and prosocial behavior increase 1:01:05 – Albert Camus quote on death, Socrates on philosophy and death 1:01:45 – Mindfulness 1:03:10 – Mindfulness and mortality salience 1:03:45 – Aristotle on flourishing 1:04:45 – Otto Rank: we are a “temporal representative of the cosmic primal force” 1:06:08 – Death awareness acceptance changes the neurons 1:06:37 – Psychedelics and fear of death, Timothy Leary, Stanislav Grof 1:10:48 – Experiential appreciation 1:14:07 – Mortality salience and desire for offspring 1:16:15 – Bill Plotkin on TGS (Eco-Awakening), Mark Gafni on post-tragic 1:16:55 – Mammalian species lifespan is 1-2 million years 1:19:20 – Greed 1:20:00 – Death reminders make us more willing to destroy environment 1:21:10 – Money and death anxiety study, Additional study 1:25:00 – Matt Motyl, et al., Subtle priming of shared human experiences eliminates threat-induced negativity toward Arabs, immigrants, and peace-making 1:25:28 – Origin of humans, Humans are more genetically related to each other than 2 monkeys 1:26:40 – Genesis story, Alternative interpretations to dominion 1:27:35 – Bob Marley – Get Up, Stand Up 1:27:45 – Saint Francis of Assisi on creation 1:28:45 – Mortality reminders lead to giving 1:29:20 – Frankly on the Median Human, TGS Roundtable on Psychopathy, TGS Episode on human origins of surplus 1:33:15 – Braiding Sweetgrass, Linear vs. Circular/Cyclical time 1:34:12 – The Dawn of Everything overview 1:36:25 – Nature exposure and health, Informal social acknowledgement is psychologically uplifting 1:37:50 – Re-engage in communal rituals 1:39:40 – The Black Plague (Evolution of causes), The Plague by Albert Camus (quote on mankind) 1:40:35 – Robert Jay Lifton – we could be the first species responsible for our own extinction 1:44:40 – Average American can’t name the branches of government, Separation of powers Download transcript Teaser image credit: Author supplied.
