PSYCH218 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Terror Management Theory
17 Sep 2016
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We have tools: observation (learning another"s language) - but how can we know we have the interpretation right, then, there is communication (teaching another your language). But there are risks with the assumptions we make: objectification is convenient. Extreme darwinism may think other species are fully driven by instinct and survival. Extreme creationists will think other species are inferior because they lack souls, unlike humans: there is also naivet in idealization where we think animals are better than humans, neither extreme is good as animal experience is very complex. There are prerequisites for a death-related experience to occur. The capacity of recognition (mental stimulation, memory, awareness of change, imagination). Past-based recognition (remembering what was and comparing it to what is) means it is possible to experience grief after experiencing death. Future-based recognition (forecasting what might be) means it is possible to feel anxiety about the possibility of death of others or yourself.
