Sheldon Solomon is an experimental social psychologist and professor of psychology at Skidmore College. He has conducted extensive research with regard to terror management theory, which was developed based on the ideas of Ernest Becker that attribute much of human behavior to the mitigation of terror induced via human consciousness and awareness of mortality. His book in collaboration with his collaborators Jeff Greenberg and Tom Pyszczynski is called “The Worm at the Core: On the Role of Death in Life“
Topics Discussed:
-Dealing with Death – Cultural Wortdview + Self Esteem
-Development- Safety, Object Transference, Parents
-Transferring Self Esteem/Sense of Safety from parents to other sources
-Awareness helps to make better decisions
– Well Rounded- Diversify your self esteem portfolio
-Relationship with yourself
-Advice for others
For more information regarding Sheldon Solomon or the topics discussed in the podcast, i have written a short blog on these ideas that contain more information on Sheldon and his colleagues “Terror Management Theory”. Below is one video where Sheldon explains TMT.
More Reading on TMT
If you would like to read my paper on the environmental implications of mortality salience (death thoughts, or the awareness of our own mortality), click here
Be sure to check out the works of Ernest Becker. Much of the research that Solomon and his colleagues did involved using the theories and ideas presented in Becker’s books The Denial of Death, and Escape from Evil.
Also check out the article my recent podcast guest Matt Karamazov wrote on Becker’s works. It contains a much more thorough and in depth look at the ideas presented in Becker’s books and TMT.
