Human beings are, arguably, the only species consciously aware of their inevitable death. Yet, even though we recognize this fact of life, the awareness gives us pause. Some researchers even argue that the fear of death motivates every decision we make.
Are we psychologically and physiologically equipped to deal with constant reminders of death? Does the fear of death shape how we live? Can we achieve immortality? And if we could, do we really want to?
Lynn talks with Robert Kastenbaum, University of Arizona clinical psychologist who has approached death as an academic, clinician, hospital administrator, and author, and developed the first death education program in the United States. People on the street tell TRBQ what they would do if they knew when their death was coming?
Lynn talks with Sheldon Solomon, Skidmore College psychology professor, who, as one of the founders of Terror Management Theory (TMT), says the fear of death affects everything from how we vote to how we judge our mothers. She also interviews Jesse Bering, Director of the Institute of Cognition and Culture, Queen’s University, Belfast, who does not believe in an afterlife. Reporter Marty Goldensohn profiles The Denial of Death, by Ernest Becker, which argues that fear of death is the ultimate motivation for all human activity.
Lynn discusses death on television and in advertising with Robert Thompson, professor of TV and popular culture at Syracuse University. She also talks with Thomas Lynch, director of Lynch & Sons funeral home in Milford, Michigan, who has written extensively about death and dying.
Death
