The fear of death quietly shapes almost everything we do. At least that was the thesis Ernest Becker put forward in his Pulitzer Prize-winning book, The Denial of Death. But how can we tell if it’s true? That’s the question social psychologist Sheldon Solomon and his collaborators have pursued for more than four decades — the subject of this conversation with Brian Greene.
The findings are striking. In experiment after experiment, subjects subtly reminded of their mortality cling more tightly to the belief systems and social structures that shield them from the terror of death. Solomon explains how self-esteem works as an anxiety buffer, why death reminders intensify tribalism and conflict, and what ancient burials, the pyramids, and today’s billion-dollar longevity ventures have in common. Drawing on Kierkegaard and Heidegger, the conversation turns finally to how confronting mortality can open onto gratitude, humility, and a deeper way of being alive.
This program is part of the Rethinking Reality series, supported by the John Templeton Foundation.
This program can be watched here, and on our YouTube channel, starting at 7PM on Friday, August 7.
Brian Greene is a professor of physics and mathematics at Columbia University, and is recognized for a number of groundbreaking discoveries in his field of superstring theory. His books, The Elegant Universe, The Fabric of the Cosmos, and The Hidden Reality, have collectively spent 65 weeks on The New York Times bestseller list.
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Bio: Sheldon Solomon is Professor of Psychology at Skidmore College. His studies of the effects of the uniquely human awareness of death on attitudes and behavior have been supported by …
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