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Start giftingThe Worm at the Core
This audiobook uses AI narration.
We’re taking steps to make sure AI narration is transparent.
Learn moreMore than one hundred years ago, the American philosopher William James wrote that the knowledge that we must die is "the worm at the core" of the human condition—a universally shared fear that informs all our thoughts and actions, from the great art we create to the devastating wars we wage.
Using data collected from human subjects, Sheldon Solomon, Jeff Greenberg, and Tom Pyszczynski show 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. The fear of death can also prompt judges to dole out harsher punishments, make children react negatively to people different from themselves, and inflame intolerance and violence.
But the worm at the core need not consume us. This book also reveals how human beings have come to terms with death and learned to lead lives of courage, creativity, and compassion. It infuses our lives with order, stability, significance, and purpose, and these anchors enable us to function moment to moment without becoming overwhelmed by the knowledge of our ultimate fate.
Jeff Greenberg is a social psychology professor at the University of Arizona. He is notable for coining the concept of Terror Management Theory, with two of his colleagues, Sheldon Solomon and Tom Pyszczynski. He is also featured in the 2003 documentary Flight From Death, a film that investigates the relationship of human violence to fear of death, as related to subconscious influences.
Tom Pyszczynski is a social psychologist, and he is notable, together with Jeff Greenberg and Sheldon Solomon, for founding the field of Terror Management Theory (TMT).
Sheldon Solomon is a professor of social psychology who teaches at Skidmore College. He earned his B.A. from Franklin and Marshall College and his doctoral degree from the University of Kansas. He is probably best known for developing Terror Management Theory, along with Jeff Greenberg & Tom Pyszczynski which is concerned with how humans deal with their own sense of mortality. He is the author or co-author of over a hundred articles and several books, and he's been featured in several films and television documentaries as well as countless radio interviews.
John Pruden is a professional voice actor who records audiobooks, corporate and online training narrations, animation and video game characters, and radio and TV commercials. His exposure to many people, places, and experiences throughout his life-from his wide array of jobs early in life; to his Army service as a UH-60 Black Hawk assault helicopter pilot; to his travels through forty-four U.S. states, South America, Europe, and Asia; to his experience in professional improv and competitive singing-provides a solid creative foundation from which to draw for his intelligent audiobook narrations and gritty but sensitive vocal characterizations. An AudioFile Earphones Award winner, John's audiobooks include The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt, which was chosen by the Washington Post as the best audiobook of 2011.