Exploring the Nuances of Terror Management Theory

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This chapter delves into the implications of terror management theory, focusing on how death awareness can unconsciously shape behavior. The hosts critique research findings related to cultural buffers and their impact on responses to death-related stimuli, raising questions about the validity of these studies.

David and Tamler continue their discussion of Plato’s allegory of the cave. We talk about the connections with mystical traditions including Gnosticism, Sufism, and Buddhist paths to awakening. We also dig deeper into what Socrates calls ‘dialectic’ – what allows this method to journey towards the first principle (the Form of the Good) and then double back to justify the initial assumptions made at the start? And if only philosophers can embark on this journey, why does everyone think of them as useless and corrupt?

Plus we look at some research that attempts to provide empirical support for ‘terror management theory’ which makes us yearn for the unfalsifiability of Ernest Becker’s The Denial of Death.

Links

Schimel, J., Hayes, J., Williams, T., & Jahrig, J. (2007). Is death really the worm at the core? Converging evidence that worldview threat increases death-thought accessibility. Journal of personality and social psychology, 92(5), 789. [researchgate.net]

Many Labs 4: Failure to replicate Mortality Salience Effect With and Without Original Author Involvement [ucpress.edu]

Neoplatonism [wikipedia.org]

Neoplatonism and Gnosticism [wikipedia.org]

Plato's Unwritten Doctrines [wikipedia.org]