{"title":"Sheldon Solomon","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"worm-at-the-core-book-sheldon-solomon-9780141981628","title":"The Worm at the Core","description":"Proof of a ground-breaking psychological theory: that the fear of death is the hidden motive behind almost everything we do.  'A joy ... The Worm at the Core asks how humans can learn to live happily while being intelligently aware of our impending doom, how knowledge of death affects the decisions we make every day, and how we can stop fear and anxiety overwhelming us' Charlotte Runcie, Daily Telegraph  'Provocative, lucid and fascinating'  Financial Times  'An important, superbly readable and potentially life-changing book . . . suggests one should confront mortality in order to live an authentic life' Tim Lott, Guardian   'Deep, important, and beautifully written ... utterly original' Daniel Gilbert","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49547115790609,"sku":"GOR007873022","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":49727798411537,"sku":"NGR9780141981628","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":49779614777617,"sku":"CIN0141981628G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50157249888529,"sku":"GOR010444225","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":52108721750289,"sku":"GOR008032475","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ WELL_READ \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":52604530327825,"sku":"GOR009382924","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0141981628.jpg?v=1750842751"},{"product_id":"worm-at-the-core-book-sheldon-solomon-9781400067473","title":"The Worm at the Core","description":"\u003cb\u003e\u003cb\u003eA transformative, fascinating theory--based on robust and groundbreaking experimental research--reveals how our unconscious fear of death powers almost everything we do, shining a light on the hidden motives that drive human behavior\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMore than one hundred years ago, the American philosopher William James dubbed the knowledge that we must die the worm at the core of the human condition. In 1974, cultural anthropologist Ernest Becker won the Pulitzer Prize for his book \u003ci\u003eThe Denial of Death, \u003c\/i\u003e arguing that the terror of death has a pervasive effect on human affairs. Now authors Sheldon Solomon, Jeff Greenberg, and Tom Pyszczynski clarify with wide-ranging evidence the many ways the worm at the core guides our thoughts and actions, from the great art we create to the devastating wars we wage.\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eThe Worm at the Core\u003c\/i\u003e is the product of twenty-five years of in-depth research. Drawing from innovative experiments conducted around the globe, Solomon, Greenberg, and 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. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e But the worm at the core need not consume us. Emerging from their research is a unique and compelling approach to these deeply existential issues: terror management theory. TMT proposes that human culture 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. The authors immerse us in a new way of understanding human evolution, child development, history, religion, art, science, mental health, war, and politics in the twenty-first century. In so doing, they also reveal how we can better come to terms with death and learn to lead lives of courage, creativity, and compassion. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Written in an accessible, jargon-free style, \u003ci\u003eThe Worm at the Core\u003c\/i\u003e offers a compelling new paradigm for understanding the choices we make in life--and a pathway toward divesting ourselves of the cultural and personal illusions that keep us from accepting the end that awaits us all. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003ePraise for \u003ci\u003eThe Worm at the Core\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe idea that nearly all human individual and cultural activity is a response to death sounds far-fetched. But the evidence the authors present is compelling and does a great deal to address many otherwise intractable mysteries of human behaviour. This is an important, superbly readable and potentially life-changing book.\u003cb\u003e--\u003ci\u003eThe Guardian \u003c\/i\u003e(U.K.)\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eA neat fusion of ideas borrowed from sociology, anthropology, existential philosophy and psychoanalysis.\u003cb\u003e--\u003ci\u003eThe Herald \u003c\/i\u003e(U.K.)\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eDeep, important, and beautifully written, \u003ci\u003eThe Worm at the Core\u003c\/i\u003e describes a brilliant and utterly original program of scientific research on a force so powerful that it drives our lives.\u003cb\u003e--Daniel Gilbert, Edgar Pierce Professor of Psychology, Harvard University, and author of \u003ci\u003eStumbling on Happiness\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e As psychology becomes increasingly trivial, devolving into the promotion of positive-thinking platitudes, \u003ci\u003eThe Worm at the Core\u003c\/i\u003e bucks the trend. The authors present--and provide robust evidence for--a psychological thesis with disturbing personal as well as political implications.\u003cb\u003e--John Horgan, author of \u003ci\u003eThe End of War\u003c\/i\u003e and director of the Center for Science Writings, Stevens Institute of Technology\u003c\/b\u003e","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49634094711057,"sku":"GOR013544058","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50014426890513,"sku":"CIN1400067472G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50266550665489,"sku":"CIN1400067472VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1400067472.jpg?v=1751145857"},{"product_id":"worm-at-the-core-book-sheldon-solomon-9780241217252","title":"The Worm at the Core","description":"It guides our thoughts and actions, from the great art we create to the devastating wars we wage. It's the real reason why we buy expensive cars and crave fame. It drives us to put our health at risk and to disguise our animal nature. Think you're not constantly thinking about death? This book shows it's at the heart of life.  Psychologists Sheldon Solomon, Jeff Greenberg, and Tom Pyszczynski have spent twenty-five years researching the many ways that fear of death - and our desire to transcend it - guides our behaviour. This book is the culmination of their ground-breaking work which proves that fear of death is the hidden motive behind almost everything we do. It shows how human culture keeps our fear of death at bay by infusing our lives with order, stability, significance and purpose, allowing us to function moment to moment without becoming overwhelmed by the knowledge of our ultimate fate. It provides surprising evidence of what happens when that fear breaks through: when reminded of their own death, judges dole out harsher punishments, people become more intolerant towards those different from themselves and more in favour of violence.  But the fear needn't consume us: this book reveals how we can better come to terms with death and learn to lead lives of courage, creativity, and compassion. It offers a compelling new paradigm for understanding the choices we make in life and immerses us in a new way of understanding human evolution, child development, history, religion, art, science, mental health, war, and politics in the twenty-first century.  'Deep, important, and beautifully written, The Worm at the Core describes brilliant and utterly original research on a force so powerful it drives our lives, but so frightening that we cannot think clearly about it.'  Daniel Gilbert author of Stumbling on Happiness  'This is not a book to be read in solitude . . . every few lines some fascinating or unexpected fact forces you to exclaim: \"Blimey! Listen to this ...\"' Spectator  Sheldon Solomon, Jeff Greenberg, and Tom Pyszczynski are professors of psychology at Skidmore College, the University of Arizona, and the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, respectively. They have been collaborating on research and writing projects for more than twenty-five years.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49861662376209,"sku":"GOR006825346","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50248484192529,"sku":"GOR010546432","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50876412166417,"sku":"GOR009629665","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0241217253.jpg?v=1751439829"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/collections\/author-books-by-sheldon-solomon.oembed","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}