Podcast appearances and mentions of Sheldon Solomon

Sometimes the biggest reset doesn't come from doing more, but from zooming out far enough to see what really matters.That's exactly what productivity expert Ali Abdaal does every year, with a practice that at first sounds unusual, he writes his own obituary. Not to dwell on the end, but to remind himself how he wants to live.Ali's story is a powerful reminder that alignment beats hustle. A former doctor turned one of the world's most-followed productivity voices, he's learned that the real danger isn't burnout from overwork, but “misalignment fatigue”, the exhaustion that comes when your daily actions don't reflect the life you actually want.In this episode, I share what I've taken from Ali's approach and how you can use it as a compass too. We explore:Why writing your obituary is really about living, not dyingHow to spot “misalignment fatigue” before it derails youThe science of mortality awareness and why it makes us kinderSmall steps to bring your daily choices closer to your true storyIf you've ever felt stuck, drifting, or unsure where your energy should go, this episode is a reminder that high performance isn't about squeezing more into the day.Here is more information on the studies referenced: The Worm at the Core: On the Role of Death in Life (Sheldon Solomon, Jeff Greenberg, and Tom Pyszczynski, 2015) Evidence That Reminders of Mortality Increase Generosity ( Ilan Dar-Nimrod, Tom Pyszczynski, Jamie Arndt, et al. 2008) Living Forward: A Proven Plan to Stop Drifting and Get the Life You Want, (Michael Hyatt and Daniel Harkavy 2016)Listen to the full episode with Ali Abdaal: https://pod.fo/e/213471 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this special anniversary episode of Horror Joy, hosts Brian Onishi and Jeff Stoyanoff reflect on their first year of celebrating the emotional and intellectual joys of horror.They discuss their favorite moments, memorable interviews with horror figures likePaul Tremblay, S. Trimble and Stephen Graham Jones, and the impact of films like Jaws, The Blair Witch Project, and Silence of the Lambs.The episode features an in-depth conversation with Professor Kevin Wetmore, who shares his insights on the communal and personal joys of horror, the evolving nature of the genre post-9/11, and the significance of the 'final girl' trope. Wetmore also discusses his work in theater and medieval literature, emphasizing how horror brings people together and helps them confront their deepest fears.So, grab your favorite haunted blue book and settle in for some schooling. But don't fall asleep, you never know where you'll wake up. 02:06 Introducing Kevin Whitmore Jr.06:41 The Community Aspect of Horror13:41 Jaws: The Original Summer Blockbuster18:47 The Perception of Horror as a Lesser Genre24:56 Exploring Horror Post 9/1127:45 The Impact of 9/11 on Slasher Films30:41 Final Destination: Death as the Ultimate Slasher33:45 Medieval Horror and Theater38:13 The Essence of Horror in Theater and Film44:47 Concluding Thoughts and Recommendations Men, Women, and Chainsaws by Carol CloverPost 9/11 Horror In American Cinema by Kevin Wetmore Jr.Eaters of the Dead – Myths and Realities of Cannibal Monsters by Kevin Wetmore, Jr.Kevin Wetmore, Jr.The Worm at the Core – The Role of Death in Life by Sheldon Solomon, Jeff Greenberg, and Tom PyszczynskiWhen the Wolf Comes Home by Nat CassidyQui Nguyen 

Death anxiety lurks beneath virtually everything we do. Our capitalistic drive for endless growth, our political polarization, even our addictions to consumption – all stem from our desperate attempts to buffer ourselves against the terror of our finite existence! Dr. Sheldon Solomon, pioneering psychologist behind Terror Management Theory, explains how when death is on our minds (ie, during pandemics, live-streamed g3n0c1de, climate collapse, wars, etc), humans cling more fervently to cultural worldviews and become susceptible to authoritarian leaders promising security. Death denialism explains so much about why/how fascism rises predictably alongside economic inequality and mortality salience. Yet facing our mortality offers profound liberation!In this episode, which is part 2 of Season 2's “Death Boop with a Side of Death Cult,” I finally interview Sheldon Solomon. Honestly, we have a great time together discussing death, aliveness, fascism, and the true delight in becoming radically inconsequential. This practical invitation to turn toward our deepest fears, to embrace both personal transformation and systemic change, to confront the paradox of finding joy amid global upheaval, is perhaps to realize that our shared mortality offers the very foundation for building something more beautiful together.~ RESOURCES ~Sheldon Solomon has no internet presence — AKA RADICAL INSIGNIFICANCE — and is a professor at Skidmore College, a co-author of In the Wake of 9/ 11: The Psychology of Terror and The Worm at the Core: On the Role of Death in Life.Free guided grounding meditation with Dana—a practice of calling your energy back/nervous system tending/reclaiming your attention) ~ (http://bit.ly/grounding-now)All Roads Studio How Your Story Sets You Free, with the Million Person ProjectEnter to win a free coaching session ~ leave a 5-star rating (only) and a written review, to be entered in a monthly drawing for a free coaching session. Email dana@danabalicki.com the review title + your review name to enter. Winner announcements will be made across platforms mid-month.// sound-editing/design ~ Rose Blakelock, theme song ~ Kat Ottosen, podcast art ~ Natalee Miller //Support the show@danablix on ig

This podcast is based on the work of the American Anthropologist Ernest Becker's perennial thesis - 'the denial of death'. In this podcast, Professor Sheldon Solomon explains how death anxiety, which is unique to the human species, leads to a quest for meaning, self-esteem and cultural worldviews. Solomon explains why it is so important for us take an interdisciplinary approach to understanding culture and why we must synthesise the wisdom of ages and sages and combine it with science if we truly want to make sense of human behaviour. YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ecYC_Y1UnE8

Sheldon Solomon is a leading figure in psychology, known for his extensive research on the effects of death awareness on human behavior. His influential studies have not only advanced academic understanding but also reached wider audiences through impactful documentaries and publications.

for this full episode, two extra episodes each month, and exclusive content please visit: patreon.com/thenickbryantpodcast video: https://youtu.be/flzSzQtoXiU  Sheldon Solomon, PhD, was integral to developing the concept of Terror Management Theory, which is based on Ernest Becker's Pulitzer Prize winning Denial of Death. He is the co-author of The Worm at the Core: On the Role of Death in Life. Sheldon is a Professor of Psychology at Skidmore College.  nickbryantnyc.com EpsteinJustice.com

I am pumped for this episode of the podcast! We have a truly enlightening discussion with the pioneers of Terror Management Theory (TMT), Dr. Sheldon Solomon, Dr. Jeff Greenberg, and Dr. Tom Pyszczynski. Terror Management Theory, a groundbreaking concept in psychology, explores how humans cope with the inherent awareness of their mortality. Developed in the 1980s, this theory has significantly influenced various fields, including social psychology, anthropology, and sociology. Dr. Sheldon Solomon, Dr. Jeff Greenberg, and Dr. Tom Pyszczynski, through their extensive research and groundbreaking experiments, have uncovered profound insights into how humans navigate existential fears, shape their beliefs, and construct cultural systems to manage the terror of death. Join us as we embark on a thought-provoking journey, exploring the origins of Terror Management Theory, its implications for understanding human behaviour, and its relevance in today's world. Get ready Mind-Maters to delve into the depths of the human psyche and gain a deeper understanding of what drives our thoughts, actions, and beliefs. Here are some of my favourite quotes from their book ‘The Worm at the Core': “The twin motives of affirming the correctness of our worldviews and demonstrating our personal worth combine to protect us from the uniquely human fear of inevitable death.” “Rituals, then, help manage existential terror by superseding natural processes and fostering the illusion that we control them.” “We have to believe in our own truths to sustain the precarious view that life is meaningful and that we are significant, enduring beings. “One culture is always a potential menace to another,” Becker observed, “because it is a living example that life can go on heroically within a value framework totally alien to one's own.” If the Aborigines' belief that magical ancestors metamorphosed into humans after becoming lizards is credible, then the idea that God created the world in six days, and Adam in his image, must be suspect.” “Yalom, following Austrian-born Israeli philosopher Martin Buber, calls it an I-thou relationship rather than an I-it one. By getting to know someone as a whole person rather than a need fulfiller, you can come to realise that the other person as just as ultimately alone as you are. But you now have that in common. Once you accept the limited knowledge you can have of each other, you can then feel close to and love someone, and be loved by them.” “Somehow we need to fashion worldviews that yield psychological security, like the rock, but also promote tolerance and acceptance of ambiguity, like the hard place.” And finally, here is their suggestion for living a good life: “Come to terms with death. Really grasp that being mortal, while terrifying, can also make our lives sublime by infusing us with courage, compassion, and concern for future generations. Seek enduring significance through your own combination of meanings and values, social connections, spirituality, personal accomplishments, identifications with nature, and momentary experiences of transcendence. Promote cultural worldviews that provide such paths while encouraging tolerance of uncertainty and others who harbour different beliefs.”

Jamie Anderson said, “Grief is just love with no place to go.” Today we hear from three experts on grief in their chosen fields and discuss how it applies to the witchcraft community. Lulu- @thesalemplantwitch on TT. Runs a therapeutic group for witches in berevement. Mortellus @acrowandthedead on Insta. Author of 'Do I Have to Wear Black? Rituals, Customs and Funerary Etiquette for Modern Pagans' and 'The Bones Fall In a Spiral: a Necromantic Primer.' Courtney Weber @courtneyaweber on Insta. One of the hosts of That Witch Life podcast; author of the forthcoming 'Sacred Tears: A Witch's Guide to Grief.' Out June 2024. Books mentioned in this episode include: It's OK That You're Not OK: Meeting Grief and Loss in a Culture That Doesn't Understand by Megan Devine and Mark Nepo Advice for Future Corpses (and Those Who Love Them): A Practical Perspective on Death and Dying by Sallie Tisdale The Worm at the Core: On the Role of Death in Life by Sheldon Solomon, Jeff Greenberg, et al. There Is No Good Card for This: What To Say and Do When Life Is Scary, Awful, and Unfair to People You Love by Kelsey Crowe and Emily McDowell For children dealing with grief: Death Is Stupid (Ordinary Terrible Things) by Anastasia Higginbotham --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/blackthorngrove/support

Sheldon Solomon is an American social psychologist. He is a professor of psychology at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York. Solomon is best known for developing terror management theory, along with Jeff Greenberg and Tom Pyszczynski. This theory is concerned with how humans deal with their own sense of mortality.Today we talk all about existential themes and how our mortality affects our psychology.We also discuss - the concept of death anxiety and terror management theory in some depth, the relationship between mortality and the meaning we extract from our lives, the right way to approach our mortality to improve our mental health, the relationship between death anxiety and political attitudes,the importance of self-esteem in getting through the ups and downs of life and many other topicsInterviewed by Dr. Alex Curmi - Give feedback here - thinkingmindpodcast@gmail.com Follow us here: Twitter @thinkingmindpod Instagram @thinkingmindpodcastJoin Our Mailing List! - https://thinkingmindpod.aidaform.com/mailinglistsignupSUPPORT: buymeacoffee.com/thinkingmind

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.  --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/robinson-erhardt/support

Sheldon Solomon, a professor of psychology at Skidmore College, has spent his professional life studying humans' fear of death and the wide ranging implications it has on how we live. He and his colleagues detail this idea, Terror Management Theory, and their countless studies about TMT in their book, The Worm at the Core: On the Role of Death in Life. In this episode, Sheldon explains how the fear of death governs our society and also shares his journey of personal reckoning with his cosmic insignificance. He also has some really accessible recommendations for starting to make peace with your own death.You can learn more about Sheldon's work and find his book here: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/170217/the-worm-at-the-core-by-sheldon-solomon-jeff-greenberg-and-tom-pyszczynski/https://www.skidmore.edu/psychology/faculty/solomon.php

Sheldon Solomon is a social psychologist best known for developing terror management theory concerned with how humans deal with their own sense of mortality. Shaldon's book "The Worm at the Core" is based on 25 years of in-depth research, drawing from innovative experiments conducted around the globe that shows conclusively that the fear of death and the desire to transcend it inspire us to buy expensive cars, crave fame, put our health at risk, and disguise our animal nature. SPONSORS: https://bluechew.com - Try BlueChew FREE when you use our promo code KONCRETE at checkout. EPISODE LINKS: bit.ly/3KNcfgE https://www.skidmore.edu/psychology/faculty/solomon.php FOLLOW DANNY JONES https://www.instagram.com/jonesdannyhttps://twitter.com/jonesdanny JOIN OUR KULT: https://bit.ly/koncretepatreon OUTLINE 0:00 - The #1 driver behind human consciousness 6:49 - Human cognition & awareness of death 23:17 - Death experiments on humans 28:30 - What happens when children learn about death 35:35 - Jordan Peterson 50:23 - Equality of opportunity VS equality of outcome 1:02:03 - John Locke, government, & giving up freedom 1:12:37 - American values & individualism 1:21:55 - How existential dread relates to politics 1:45:43 - Civilization collapse 2:04:32 - Climate change 2:09:52 - Artificial intelligence & immortality 2:16:09 - UFOs & schizophrenia 2:23:18 - Psychedelics 2:35:55 - What happens after we die?

"Here we are at a crossroads of human history. There's never been this historical confluence of war, political instability, economic vulnerability, on top of the impending ecological apocalypse.Here we are, just marinated in death reminders. And what we know from our research is that that turns us into depressed, demoralized, proto fascists plundering the planet in our insatiable desire for dollars and dross in an alcohol-oxycodone-TikTok-twittering stupor.This is not a great position to be in."Are you afraid of dying?Sheldon Solomon has been researching death anxiety and its impact on our behaviour for decades, finding that unmitigated death awareness drives mindless consumption, political polarisation and more disordered behaviour. In short, our fear of death could be driving the climate crisis.We discuss the link between death awareness and self-awareness, how cultural beliefs are used to anesthetize death anxiety, how Western culture has the ironic effect of exacerbating that very anxiety that it's trying to solve, and why the solutions lie with imagination and creativity.Sheldon Solomon is Professor of Psychology at Skidmore College.  His studies of the effects of the uniquely human awareness of death on behaviour were featured in the award winning documentary film Flight from Death: The Quest for Immortality.  He is co-author of In the Wake of 9/11: The Psychology of Terror and The Worm at the Core: On the Role of Death in Life. Planet: Critical investigates why the world is in crisis—and what to do about it. Support the project with a paid subscription.© Rachel Donald Get full access to Planet: Critical at www.planetcritical.com/subscribe

Sheldon Solomon is an American social psychologist at Skidmore College. He is known for developing terror management theory, along with Jeff Greenberg and Tom Pyszczynski, which is concerned with how humans deal with their own sense of mortality.

Sheldon Solomon is a renowned epileptic doctor and Scorner2013, who has given a wide-ranging talk on secularisations. In this episode, Lexman and Sheldon discuss the various secularisations, with a focus on epilepsy.

Professor Sheldon Solomon is the Ross Professor for Interdisciplinary Studies at Skidmore College, New York. Professor Sheldon is one of the true pioneers in the fields of social and evolutionary psychology. Best known for developing terror management theory (TMT), along with Jess Greenberg and Tom Pyszczynski, Sheldon and colleagues have revolutionised our understanding of how humans deal with their own sense of mortality and the often destructive effects of ‘death denial' on individual and collective behaviour. An engaging speaker and raconteur, in more recent years Sheldon has turned his attention to how death anxiety might be related to the anthropocene and the insatiable appetite of humans for more, whether that be cheap energy or lethal consumption. In this conversation we talk about why death denial is so pervasive, evidence underpinning TMT, death and the Hobbesian imperative in global politics, hope without optimism, Epicurus, Heidegger and much, much more. Solomon can be found here: https://www.skidmore.edu/psychology/faculty/solomon.php We discussed: ‘Death Denial in the Anthropocene' In the book: K. Zywert & Stephen Quilley (eds.), Health in the Anthropocene: Living Well on a Finite Planet (University of Toronto Press, 2020): https://utorontopress.com/9781487524142/health-in-the-anthropocene/ The Worm at the Core: On The Role of Death in Life (with Jeff Greenberg and Tom Pyszczynski) (Penguin/Random House, 2015): https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/170217/the-worm-at-the-core-by-sheldon-solomon-jeff-greenberg-and-tom-pyszczynski/ Ernest Becker, The Denial of Death (Free Press/Macmillan, 1973): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Denial_of_Death Flight from Death, 2003 documentary: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flight_from_Death

Avebury, one of the most famous prehistoric sites in England, is also home to one of the world's most unusual aardvarks. Known scientifically as Aardvark bitis porcorum, the aardvark is a small burrowing animal that is distantly related to the rabbit. Despite its diminutive size, the aardvark is surprising stout for its height at just under one foot high when standing on its hind legs. Sheldon Solomon is an archaeologist and professor emeritus from Brown University who has studied Avebury for more than four decades. In this episode of Lexman, Solomon discusses

Sheldon Solomon is a philosopher and the author of Theism: Why Most Christians Believe It. In this interview, Lexman discusses Solomon's arguments for theism, along with some of his critiques.

Sheldon Solomon, the mythographer, joins Lexman in discussing the story of Nides, the demigods who lived in tabourets. They discuss the intricacies of this myth and how it has evolved over time.

Sheldon Solomon is a world-renowned expert on berths and drumlins. He's also the author of "Abusing Enterostomies: A Field Guide to Vulgarity, Humor, and Cleverness." In this episode, Lexman and Sheldon discuss the intersection of berths and drumlins, courts and lard, and the absurdities that come with them.

In this episode of The Session, social psychologist Dr Sheldon Solomon joins Tom Swarbrick to discuss our sense of mortality and his terror management theory.

Sheldon Solomon shares his secret to adding days to your life.

Sheldon Solomon is a renowned hydropathist and illusionist who will be joining Lexman on the show to discuss his craft. They'll be discussing everything from the origins of illusionism to the techniques used by masters of the art. If you're looking for a fascinating treat, you won't want to miss this episode!

The Sheldon Solomon ScreedProvider Antiochus Thrust III introduces his latest project - a screed provider that will allow users to easily produce screeds. Meanwhile, Leonard and Sheldon get into an argument over the correct way to use metho, and Penny tries to help Leonard with his hockets.

How do we go beyond the divisions in our society? This episode features part two of a conversation with social psychologist Sheldon Solomon who offers a unique perspective on our polarized country that goes beyond the standard political, social, historical, and economic explanations.

Today's episode features a conversation between Peter and Dr. Sheldon Solomon, a professor from Skidmore College. Dr. Solomon and Peter talk about his role in founding research of Terror Management Theory, perspectives of his career, and a rapid fire closing questionnaire.

How can we get a better understanding of the divisions in our society? This episode features a conversation with social psychologist Sheldon Solomon who offers a unique perspective on our polarized country that goes beyond the standard political, social, historical, and economic explanations.

In the final episode, professor of psychology Sheldon Solomon, Depop's head of sustainability Justine Porterie, The Fabricant's head of content and strategy Michaela Larosse and Chloé's chief sustainability officer Aude Vergne join retail futurist Doug Stephens to explore how evolving consumer preferences are shaping purchasing decisions. In this final episode of Retail Reborn, we explore the future consumer's preferences and needs, and how this is shaping their purchasing decisions, from the V-shaped recovery of the personal luxury goods industry in 2021 to the renewed verve in, and take on, the experiential economy as the world reopened post-global lockdowns. “It's worthwhile to question the extent to which some of the changes we are witnessing are truly indicative of longer-term shifts in behaviour, or an almost primally motivated response to the profound medical threat of the pandemic, not to mention the social, political and economic unrest that it has unleashed,” says podcast host and retail futurist Doug Stephens. The conversation examines human behaviour and the effects the pandemic might have played in the mindsets of young consumers, before discussing evolving attitudes towards ownership, the rise of responsible goods and sustainability in a luxury fashion house and the resale market — an industry expected to nearly triple by 2025. Finally, we explore virtual technology's presence in consumption preferences, from the evolution of sampling processes to the increased interest in digital products. Indeed, the metaverse is projected to provide a $50 billion revenue opportunity for luxury by 2030, according to Morgan Stanley, and the first Metaverse Virtual Fashion Week took place last month. To break down what consumers will buy, four global experts share their insights and expertise with host Doug Stephens. Listen to all episodes of Retail Reborn Season 2 on the BoF Podcast, to discover actionable insights into the opportunities and challenges the consumer of tomorrow will bring. Brookfield Properties is building marketplaces of the future that meet the needs of the modern shopper. Discover more.

In the final episode, professor of psychology Sheldon Solomon, Depop's head of sustainability Justine Porterie, The Fabricant's head of content and strategy Michaela Larosse and Chloé's chief sustainability officer Aude Vergne join retail futurist Doug Stephens to explore how evolving consumer preferences are shaping purchasing decisions. In this final episode of Retail Reborn, we explore the future consumer's preferences and needs, and how this is shaping their purchasing decisions, from the V-shaped recovery of the personal luxury goods industry in 2021 to the renewed verve in, and take on, the experiential economy as the world reopened post-global lockdowns. “It's worthwhile to question the extent to which some of the changes we are witnessing are truly indicative of longer-term shifts in behaviour, or an almost primally motivated response to the profound medical threat of the pandemic, not to mention the social, political and economic unrest that it has unleashed,” says podcast host and retail futurist Doug Stephens. The conversation examines human behaviour and the effects the pandemic might have played in the mindsets of young consumers, before discussing evolving attitudes towards ownership, the rise of responsible goods and sustainability in a luxury fashion house and the resale market — an industry expected to nearly triple by 2025. Finally, we explore virtual technology's presence in consumption preferences, from the evolution of sampling processes to the increased interest in digital products. Indeed, the metaverse is projected to provide a $50 billion revenue opportunity for luxury by 2030, according to Morgan Stanley, and the first Metaverse Virtual Fashion Week took place last month. To break down what consumers will buy, four global experts share their insights and expertise with host Doug Stephens. Listen to all episodes of Retail Reborn Season 2 on the BoF Podcast, to discover actionable insights into the opportunities and challenges the consumer of tomorrow will bring. Brookfield Properties is building marketplaces of the future that meet the needs of the modern shopper. Discover more.

Sheldon Solomon explores how humans manage the terror of death, and the larger implications of this quest for immortality via death denial.  Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Science] [Show ID: 32056]

Sheldon Solomon explores how humans manage the terror of death, and the larger implications of this quest for immortality via death denial.  Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Science] [Show ID: 32056]

Sheldon Solomon explores how humans manage the terror of death, and the larger implications of this quest for immortality via death denial.  Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Science] [Show ID: 32056]

Sheldon Solomon explores how humans manage the terror of death, and the larger implications of this quest for immortality via death denial.  Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Science] [Show ID: 32056]

Mike Isaacson: Of course you're gonna be replaced. No one lives forever. [Theme song] Nazi SS UFOsLizards wearing human clothesHinduism's secret codesThese are nazi lies Race and IQ are in genesWarfare keeps the nation cleanWhiteness is an AIDS vaccineThese are nazi lies Hollow earth, white genocideMuslim's rampant femicideShooting suspects named Sam HydeHiter lived and no Jews died Army, navy, and the copsSecret service, special opsThey protect us, not sweatshopsThese are nazi lies Mike: Hello and welcome to another episode of The Nazi Lies Podcast. Subscribe to our Patreon to join our book club. This should be an interesting episode. I've got Dr. Michael Cholbi with me. He's chair in philosophy at the University of Edinburgh and editor of the volume Immortality and the Philosophy of Death. He's joining me to discuss Replacement theory. Welcome to the podcast, Dr. Cholbi. Michael Cholbi: Thanks very much, I really appreciate the invitation. Mike: All right, so before we get too deep into the philosophy, talk a bit about what you study and how it contributes to the human experience. Michael: Well, I'm a philosopher, and I specialize in particular in ethics. Within ethics, much of my research addresses philosophical issues, ethical issues, related to death and mortality. Some of the issues that I have written on include things like suicide and assisted dying, the desirability of immortality, the rationality of attitudes such as fear toward death, and most recently, working a significant bit on philosophical questions related to grief and bereavement. In terms of what I think it contributes to the human experience--well, I hope it contributes something to the experience--I do think that it's probably the case that even if non-human creatures have some understanding of death, some inchoate understanding of death, we human beings learn at a pretty early age about death, and we learn at a pretty early age as well, that death is ultimately unavoidable. We learn that every creature that we have ever known, every creature that ever will exist including ourselves, does die eventually. And I think as a consequence of that, we have to live our lives in light of that fact. It seems to be pretty clear that our attitudes about death and mortality impact a lot of how we approach the world, what our attitudes are, what our aspirations are. So I'd like to think that philosophy of death or dying is a subject that is relevant to people not because of, you know, their being a member of a profession, or because they come from a certain part of the world or whatever it might be, but simply because they're human and they are aware of the fact of their mortality. I think we all grapple with it, and I think that philosophy has some particular tools or methods that can help people grapple with it in a helpful way. Mike: Now, the reason I wanted to have you on is because I think replacement theory sort of revolves around a fear of death or an inability to grapple with one's own mortality. So there's this idea of being replaced, it's obviously fundamental to the theory itself, and I think this relates to the idea of the first part of your book, “Is death bad for those that die?” I think that replacement theory would answer in the affirmative, and probably most people, though less frantically. So what do philosophers have to say on this question? Does anyone say no? Michael: Well, I actually think there's a pretty significant contingent, right, of philosophers in different traditions who don't think that death is bad for the person who dies, or at least isn't bad necessarily. And I think that those who hold that view fall into several different categories. One category are those philosophers who believed in the afterlife. A significant number of philosophers have worked in Christian and Islamic traditions and of course, according to those traditions, death is not really the end of us; it's more like a transition for us in that we change from being mortal embodied living creatures to being immortal creatures. Not all of the thinkers who believe in afterlife have believed in what we would think of as religions in the usual sense. Socrates famously argued that his death was not going to be bad for him because this was his opportunity to be released from his body and to become acquainted with the eternal and unchanging forms that he believed are the source of all knowledge. Another school of thought that has denied that death is bad for us were the Epicureans and they have their contemporary defenders. Epicurean philosophers believe that death is neither good nor bad for us. Their famous slogan is "Death's nothing to us," and their point of view is that death is the end of us. We don't survive it. There's no afterlife. And because we don't survive it, we don't experience anything bad, there's nothing to be bad about death, and we simply don't exist. So in their view, death is neither bad nor good. Then there's a third school of thought that's a bit more contemporary. Most philosophers who adopt this school of thought would call themselves Deprivationists or Comparativists, and roughly the idea is something like this, that your death can be bad for you, and the way it can be bad for you is that if you die at a particular point in time, then had you not died at that time you would have lived longer, and had you lived longer, there's the possibility that you would have had a better life overall. So were I to die today then that means I would not survive longer, and perhaps had I survived longer, I would have had the opportunity to have a better life, a happier, more fulfilling life, to say. So there's certainly been many schools of philosophical thought, many philosophers, that have thought that death is not bad for us, or at least not necessarily bad for us, I should say. That said, I think it's been one of the sort of perennial questions in philosophy and there are a good number of people on the other side of the ledger who think that there's something deeply terrible about death just insofar as it represents the kind of destruction of our consciousness or of our subjectivity. It's bad simply insofar as it represents the cessation of the existence of the only thing that each of us can really say that we know or count on–ourselves. And maybe that's bad enough to make death bad. Mike: This kind of gets us into the next topic I want to get into. One of the topics that comes up in your book is the idea of life as a narrative arc that concludes with your death. And it seems like that is roundly refuted but it still feels compelling. It forms the basis of most action, adventure, sci fi, fantasy, etc, stories. And it kind of implies destiny, which is something crucial to replacement theory. Even the Comparative approach touched on in the first part of the book takes for granted one's destiny that we compare, you know, beyond one's ultimate death, or one's untimely death. Replacement theory kind of takes this narrative arc story of an individual life and puts it at the meta level with the grand narrative of the nation. So, how do philosophers take on this idea of life as a story, presumably that concludes with one's death? Michael: Well, I certainly think that outside of philosophy and say psychology, we see an abundance of evidence that perhaps one of the defining features of human beings is that we're storytellers, right? We tell stories about ourselves, about other people, about our communities. And it's certainly possible to look at one's life as a narrative, as a kind of story. There are philosophers who have denied that this is sort of essential to us. There's a living philosopher now named Galen Strawson who has essentially said that, or at least from his point of view, he lives his life as a series of disconnected episodes as if there's sort of no narrative, unity, or structure to them at all. And of course, there's also the possibility that we tell stories about our lives or craft narratives about our lives that turn out to be false or incoherent or really don't make any sense. I don't think necessarily that the notion that we view our lives as narratives and our lives as narratives implies destiny. In fact, I think a lot of what people are attempting to do in the course of their lives is to try to craft a life that corresponds to a certain story. So, perhaps you have a life where a certain kind of adversity was present early on in life, but one of the central things that you tried to do was to overcome that adversity, and by the end of your life, it's clear that you had overcome that adversity. That's a pretty common trope in the stories that people aspire to create for their lives. I think at the collective level-- and that seems to be really what sort of Nazi replacements theory is operating at a sort of meta level as you said-- you know, the notion that we aspire to tell stories about ourselves that connect us with others, and in particular connect us with others who will continue to exist after we are gone is a very powerful human equation. I think certainly, many people when they think about what they want out of their lives, they want in some ways their lives to transcend their own biographies, right, to have a legacy, to leave an impact in the world, to improve life for the next generation. In fact there's a philosopher recently, Samuel Scheffler, who has kind of coined this idea of the "collective afterlife" that much of what we do and care about, when we sit back and reflect upon it, seems to assume that there will be people who will exist after we're gone. So if you're a cancer researcher, and you were to learn that in the days after your death the entire earth and the whole human species were to be destroyed by an asteroid, Schaeffler says that would probably change your goals, right? You wouldn't think that curing cancer was so important a goal. So I think it's pretty baked in. I think, to human nature to be able to view our lives as stories, to want our stories to interconnect with other people, other members of our family, our community our nation, our religion. It's actually a very commonplace feature of human life that we struggle with death, and one of the ways that we try to address that struggle, I think, is by crafting a narrative that transcends ourselves as individuals. Mike: All right. So your book ends with a part on immortality, which I think is also important for Replacement theory. This idea that you will somehow live on through your nation or your race or your genes or whatever. It seems like a mystical way of achieving immortality. So, historically philosophically, how do people seek to attain immortality? How does it color the way we navigate the world? Michael: Well, I mean  in some ways I would say that the desire for a kind of immortality that is symbolic, as some people have said, a kind of immortality that doesn't involve literally surviving as an individual, but a kind of immortality that consists in having a legacy or leaving an impact on the world. That kind of immortality is, in some sense, less mystical than in certain other ways of thinking about immortality. I suppose the most mystical or most puzzling is one that I was referring to earlier in our conversation, you know, the notion of an afterlife. It does seem to be on its face puzzling how we can die and be entirely completely dead and yet somehow survive that and come out on the other side, so to speak. But certainly, the various narratives of the afterlife are one of the ways that people have thought they could attain immortality. Another, of course, is what we've been calling legacy through family, culture, religion, nation, and so forth. And a third one-- and this is the one I suppose that sometimes people forget about-- is that you could conceivably attain immortality simply by not dying. [laughs] So you know, if you were to be able to find the proverbial fountain of youth, that would give you eternal life rather than some post mortem immortal life, that'd be a kind of immortality too. I think in terms of the place that thinking about mortality has in human life, you know, there's a school of psychologists led by Sheldon Solomon who put forward something called terror management theory. And as the name suggests, what terror management theory is about is the idea that we human beings are aware of our deaths, and we either find this completely incomprehensible that we could die, or we find it completely terrifying, and either way, we adopt certain strategies, perhaps subconscious or unconscious strategies, to try to manage or address that anxiety. In this respect, the terror management theorists are following upon the work of an anthropologist's writing in the 1970s named Ernest Becker, he wrote a famous book called The Denial of Death. But the terror management theorists in effect say to us, "Well, many of us work very hard to either deny that we die. I suppose that could be one way of looking at belief in the afterlife as kind of the assertion that we simply don't die really. Or we try to live our lives in such a way that we're kind of reassured by the prospect that even if we do die, things that we care about continue, right? Our institutions that we're allied with, the community that we live in, our families, sports clubs that we root for, all of those kinds of things may continue to exist. And that gives us a kind of immortality that's not sort of metaphysical, right? It's not where you actually continue to exist, but I suppose you could call it a symbolic or ethical immortality." But again, I think that I agree with the terror management theorists that somewhere deep in most of our consciousness is the awareness of the fact of our death, and it probably has a huge influence on how we behave individually. It's probably responsible for many of the principal features of human culture. Anthropologists have observed that pretty much every culture that has ever been studied has beliefs and rituals surrounding death, right? [laughs] That's like the starting point for anthropologist's study of the world. So yes, definitely immortality, or striving for immortality, is a way to wrestle or grapple with a mortality that I think we all come to appreciate early on in life. Mike: So, replacement theory has been around for a while although it didn't really have a formal name as a theory until the Christchurch shooter wrote his manifesto, The Great Replacement. One thing I found interesting about the manifesto was the statistic he chooses to focus on. So fascists, racists, xenophobes, they generally appeal to a variety of statistics—racial crime statistics, racial population demographics, not very often racial immigration rates. But the Christchurch shooter chose to focus on racial birth rates. For him, death is the birth of the Other. There's this fear of being bred out. For fascists, there's a sort of philosophical underpinning to this. It has to do with how they view the life and the nation. They consider the nation or identity or whatever, to be literally a living organism or super organism. This implies all the normal things about life–the power of decision making, a lifecycle, etc. For fascists, the nation is a living thing with the state as its power of cognition. This is very similar to one thing we discussed on a previous episode, The Great Chain of Being, this idea that a kingdom is a living organism with the king is the head, and various classes of society as various body parts. So whereas The Great Chain of Being is held together by divine right, fascism is held together by kinship, yielding culture, civilization, politics, economics, etc. This kinship is a unifying force that fuses individuals into an organic nation. And like all living beings, a nation is born; it has a youth, it has a maturation, a frail old age, and an eventual death. Now, fundamentally this comes from a fascist obsession with the organic and applying pseudo-biological models to everything. Anyway, here's my question. How does death shape the way we view non-living phenomena? Michael: Hm. That's the toughest question you've asked me. When we're thinking about non-living phenomenon, are we thinking about just sort of matter? [laughs] Mike: One example you can think of may be like the way that we think of when a computer breaks down, it dies. You know? But also like the idea that a nation in decline is dying or things like that. Michael: Okay, I see. So death as a sort of metaphor for nonliving things, things that can't in some literal sense die. Good. Okay. Again, I think in some ways this goes back to storytelling. There is this well observed psychological tendency we have to attribute agency, personhood, to things that our better selves know aren't agents and don't have personhood. You know, your cell phone breaks down, your cell phone dies on you-- noticed how I used that word dies-- we tend to personify it, right? We sort of think of it as something like an organism. Now, part of that, of course, is simply that thinking of things as having agency, as being person-like, is one of the ways that we try to conceptualize the world around us. And of course, this has some limitations. Sometimes I think you could say that perhaps certain advances in science have been impeded because we have some difficulty in understanding the prospect that events can happen without there being a storyteller or something sort of behind these events that instigates them or chooses them. This is kind of the basis for the infamous argument for God's existence, the argument from design that the world seems so orderly and harmonious in certain sorts of ways. And so this argument tries to infer that that order, that harmoniousness had to have been willed into existence by a god, right? By some sort of divinity. It's certainly, I think, an instinct we have to personify other beings even when they're not persons, to treat them as agents even when they're not agents. I suppose that there's a kind of distortion there as at root in thinking about collective entities as if they are organisms. They're not organisms. And you're certainly right that there's something perhaps misguided about the Nazi replacement theory insofar as it thinks of society as a kind of organism that has these parts that can be healthy or diseased. And I suppose that part of the Nazi ideology has been to try to extirpate the diseased parts in order to preserve and maintain the healthy parts. I'm not sure it's the metaphor that's the problem, but perhaps the particular construal ofit that the Nazi ideology gives, that societies are collectivities or organisms that have these parts that thrive or can be unhealthy on their own. Mike: Okay so there was one article in the volume that at least one review I read took exception to. So the article in question is titled “Constructing Death as a Form of Failure: Addressing Mortality in a Neoliberal Age.” Now I won't make you rehash someone else's article. But I do want to talk about kind of the underriding theme of this article which is the idea that social values shape the way we conceptualize death. So how do social values shape the way we conceptualize death? Michael: I think that particular article was emphasizing a certain way in which contemporary societies sometimes seem to understand death. That death is a sort of failure and that we should attempt to extirpate it, eliminate it if we can, or delay it as long as possible. I mean, certainly many people as they face death, as they become ill and their days become short, some people--not all--do seem to think that their deaths would amount to a kind of failure. Even some physicians have difficulty letting go of the idea that a patient who dies is a patient that they have failed. But I think that's an indication of a sort of broader phenomenon and a broader reality where societies certainly do have values that invite certain interpretations or understandings of the significance of death. Just to give a sort of stark contrast, societies like ours that suppose often that the best sort of life is one that is very productive, where you have a lot of accomplishments, where you enjoy the various kinds of successes and various kinds of material goods. Well, death then looks like the end of all that, and that looks to be a misfortune. Conversely, if one looks at societies or cultures that have a much more communitarian or perhaps cyclical picture of the human condition, they don't necessarily seem to view death as the end of something good or a kind of failure. They view it as a fact that we need to reconcile ourselves to, because again we do eventually die. So I certainly think that our attitudes toward death have very rich logical and evidential interconnections with other things that we care about. And it certainly seems to be that with respect to the theme of your podcast, the Nazi belief system views deaths of white people or white culture or white civilizations as a profound loss, because of course the background ideology is one where those groups or those individuals are supposed to sort of be eternal to reign supreme. And so it's unsurprising then that they would view death as such a detrimental blow to them. Mike: All right. Now obviously, you didn't compile this book as a metaphor for replacement theory. So what do you hope that people get out of your book? Michael: Well, there's of course a collection of articles by a number of scholars--only one of the articles is by me--but I think that what this book can offer people is a richer understanding of two distinct questions that nevertheless interlock or overlap, if you will. So the first question that the book addresses is really the first question you asked about today; is death bad for us? Should we think that it's a bad thing? I think there's a diversity of opinions about this as I mentioned. There are certainly philosophical traditions that have thought that death is bad for us, others that have thought that it isn't bad in fact it's neither good nor bad. Others sort of thought that it may be bad depending upon sort of the circumstances of your death and the circumstances of your life. So I'm hoping that people will garner a more robust understanding of why that's an interesting question and the different ways that philosophers might answer it, and the kinds of arguments they give for their positions. Now, the other question that I think people will gain some insight about is the question of whether immortality would be good for us. It's natural to think that if death is bad for us then it would have to follow that the absence of death, which is to say immortality, would be good for us. But many philosophers have been skeptical about that too. [laughs] They've sort of argued that we're simply not built to be immortal, we would ultimately find the life of an immortal boring and tedious. We would end up like the immortal gods of Greek and Roman mythology where all they seemed to do with their days is sort of meddle in the lives of mortals and create mischief. Others have thought that this would amount to such a distortion of our values, you know, certain kinds of things that we care about in our mortal lives. They wouldn't be sustainable if we were immortal, right? I mean, what would it mean to marry someone, you know, to use that language "till death do us part" if death never comes? [laughs] Would we still value our romantic relationships in the same way? That's just one example where people have wondered whether immortality would in fact alter our values beyond recognition. But I guess what I'm hoping people will see in the book is that those two questions about the value of death and particularly whether it's bad, and on the other hand whether immortality would be good, are both independently interesting, but also, I think, interesting jointly. Because the question of the value of immortality arises very naturally if you believe that in fact death is bad for us. Mike: Okay. Well, Dr. Cholbi, thanks so much for coming on to The Nazi Lies Podcast to talk about death and replacement theory. The book again is Immortality and the Philosophy of Death out from Rowman and Littlefield. Thanks again. Michael: Thank you. It was really a pleasure to talk to you. Mike: If you want to be an upcoming guest with us, join The Nazi Lies Book Club on Patreon. Patrons get access to the Discord server where we host the book club and occasionally share Animal Crossing memes. Patrons also get a bundle of merch for signing up, access to The Nazi Lies Calendar, and advance show notes, transcripts and episodes. See you on the Discord! [Theme song]

What were some of the important ideas from 2021? This episode, sums up some of the most thought-provoking ideas from our guests, who included Jack Moscou, Lyla Rothschild, Henry Richards, Jerry Piven, Pelin Kesebir, Dan Liechty, Sheldon Solomon, Merlyn Mowrey, and Tomi-Ann Roberts.

Ethan Warren, film critic and editor for the online film journal Bright Wall/Dark Room discusses his 2018 article “I Can Whistle With That: What the Stories of 2018 Show Us About Responding to Despair,” which tries to grapple with our current moment of anxiety, apocalypse, and despair and the ways that seeps into our cultural entertainment. He explains how this concept of despair was appropriate for 2018, but may have evolved since then into feelings of formless anger and longing, as well as what that means for the entertainment of 2021 and 2022. Warren also discusses his upcoming book The Cinema of Paul Thomas Anderson: American Apocrypha, as well as where Anderson fits into it all. Terror Management Theory originates in the book The Worm at the Core: On the Role of Death in Life by Sheldon Solomon, Jeff Greenberg, and Tom Pyszcynski. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/riversidechats/message

Sheldon Solomon is a social psychologist at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York. Along with his colleagues Jeff Greenberg and Tom Pyszczynski, he wrote 'The Worm at the Core: On the Role of Death in Life', a book which examines how humans deal with their own sense of mortality. Inspired by the work of the cultural anthropologist, Ernest Becker, Sheldon has been working for many years to understand how the uniquely human awareness of mortality motivates every individual and societal action. Don't forget to like and subscribe! 'The Worm at the Core: On the Role of Death in Life' - https://www.amazon.com.au/Worm-Core-Role-Death-Life/dp/1400067472 Julius Killerby's Website - https://juliuskillerby.com

Today our anxiety is caused by death. I spoke with psychology professor Sheldon Solomon who studies how death anxiety affects the living. It turns out death anxiety causes us to put up walls, fear perceived others and unfortunately violence.  If you're liking the show and want to support it, feel free to buy me a coffee!https://www.buymeacoffee.com/givesmeanxietyCheck out the show on all of your favorite social platforms.https://twitter.com/GivesanxietyPodhttps://www.facebook.com/thatgivesmeanxietypodcasthttps://www.instagram.com/thatgivesmeanxietypodcast/https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgCOITNlRi_K7JP9QxBK-vQSupport the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/givesmeanxiety)

This month is the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. The nation continues to wrestle with the traumatic effects these many years later. In this podcast we unpack the psychology with Tom Pyszczynski, co-author with Sheldon Solomon and Jeff Greenberg of In the Wake of 9/11: The Psychology of Terror. In this book the authors analyze reactions to the attacks through the lens of terror management theory, an existential psychological model that explains why humans react the way they do to the threat of death and how this reaction influences their post-threat cognition and emotion. This is also manifest in evangelicals in the shift in their post-9/11 perspectives on Muslims, as well as in their reactions to those perceived as promoting syncretism, such as Rev. David Benke, and Larycia Hawkins. 

How can focusing on death improve our lives and the world around us? This episode discusses death reflection, mindfulness, meditation, what is called the death-positive movement, and related topics. It features an interview with Dr. Sheldon Solomon social psychologist at Skidmore College.

Sheldon Soloman is a professor of psychology from Skidmore College, in New York. Sheldon and his colleagues study death. Specifically how being reminded of our own mortality can affect our behavior. Let's just say it doesn't make us more open minded. Want to support the show? Feel free to buy me a coffee!https://www.buymeacoffee.com/deathspaceCheck the show out on your favorite social platforms!https://twitter.com/DeathSpacePodhttps://www.facebook.com/Death-Space-Podcast-107080187930028https://www.instagram.com/deathspacepodcast/https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCG8kzR8y0p-yQe3WTbdLsBASupport the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/deathspace)

How do we improve our lives and our society by practicing humility? This episode discusses humility: its many aspects, and ways it offers hope for the future. It features an interview with social psychologist Pelin Kesebir honorary fellow at the Center for Healthy Minds at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

How do we improve our lives and our society through a better understanding of political fantasy and illusion? This episode discusses rationalization, decision making, our society, and possibilities for hope. It features an interview with psychologist Jerry Piven who teaches in the Department of Philosophy atRutgers University.

Professor of Psychology Sheldon Solomon converses with Tim on a subject very few of us contemplate: death. Both share a keen interest in the topic. Here they share their combined interests on the concept from a deeply important scientific and philosophic angle, as well as the incredibly practical implications this has for business and personal performance in living and leading in life.  Get after it team! and thank you so much for the support.   

Where do we find hope for our society that is caught up in an epidemic of narcissism and self-destructive behavior? This episode advances the discussion of our society and opportunities for hope. Dr. Sheldon Solomon extends the concerns about individual and collective narcissism into other areas and explores some new ideas.

How do we find a way forward in a society that is mired in an epidemic of narcissism and struggling with radical economic inequality? This second of three episodes expands a discussion of narcissism to more fully understand what it means to individuals and to our society. www.thehubforimportantideas.com

Where is there hope in this age of Narcissism? This episode discusses narcissism, the unexpected dangers it poses for our society, and possible antidotes that we believe have far reaching potential. www.thehubforimportantideas.com

What is the pivotal role self-esteem plays in our culture? This episode discusses the key concept of self-esteem, why it is psychologically important, and what's wrong with our society in terms of its role in not helping to provide strong self-esteem. www.thehubforimportantideas.com

Why is there bigotry? In this episode Dr. Sheldon Solomon offers a unique perspective on prejudice, the psychological underpinnings for it, and the problem in America.

On this episode I talk with social psychologist Michael Johns about terror management theory, a principle developed by psychologists Jeff Greenberg, Sheldon Solomon, and Tom Pyszczynski off the works of anthropologist Ernest Becker. The theory connects humans' fear of death with our cultural values (very interesting stuff, may make you question your own worldview, listen with caution).Note: this episode lists the museum's email address incorrectly! Please send all correspondence to info@morbidanatomymuseum.org to avoid losing it to the aether.